March 2022 | Issue 93
Featured in this issue:
www.vascularnews.com
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CX 2022 Global vascular event returns to in-person format
Profile: Palma Shaw page 18
Social media: Best practice guidance published
page 24
CX 2022 faces challenges and opportunities in the vascular world Anticipation is building for the Charing Cross International Symposium 2022, which this year will address some of the key challenges currently facing the vascular field—from the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on vascular patients and providers, to the pressing matter of the “hurting leg” and unnecessary amputations. The symposium will bring together world-leading experts in the space and feature three days of in-person education in London, UK, as well as virtual and on-demand viewing options for a wider global audience.
Population-based data project unmasks “frightening” trends in worldwide vascular disease burden Smoking-related diseases, including many vascular diseases, are not only a 20th-century health concern. In fact, by far the largest number of smoking-related deaths will occur in the 21st century unless smoking rates fall. Furthermore, the burden of vascular disease will increase even in parts of the world where smoking rates are falling, largely due to an ageing population. This is all according to Peter Rothwell, Action Research professor of Neurology at the University of Oxford (Oxford, UK) and founding director of the Wolfson Centre for the Prevention of Stroke and Dementia.
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n developed nations, smoking rates have been falling “dramatically” since peaking in the 1960s and 1970s, Rothwell notes, with subsequent falls in rates of lung and other smoking-related cancers. Data from other parts of the world tell a very different story, however, with smoking rates increasing in countries such as China and India. There could be “up to a billion” smoking-related deaths by the end of this century, Rothwell communicates, dwarfing a figure of around 100 million in the 20th century. “We think of smoking-related disease as being a 20th-century problem. In fact,” he warns, “we have not even started to scratch the surface at a worldwide level”. According to Rothwell, reduced rates of smoking and widespread use of statins will have a “substantial positive impact” on the burden of vascular disease in high-income countries. However, he cautions that the number of patients requiring investigation, treatment, rehabilitation
and care “will still continue to increase” due to an ageing population, inadequate control of blood pressure, inadequate uptake of anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation (AF), and increasing obesity and diabetes. In addition, he highlights a “worrying” recent reversal of the previously falling incidence of some vascular diseases at younger ages. The Oxford Vascular study has gathered extensive data on the incidence and outcomes of vascular diseases that provide snapshots of patterns and changes in disease burden. Since its inception in 2002, this population-based study has aimed to ascertain and assess on a daily basis all acute vascular events, including transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs), strokes, coronary events and peripheral vascular events, in a population of about 95,000, Rothwell explains,
RUNNING FROM 26–28 APRIL, THE comprehensive programme will explore challenges to practice in all vascular domains, including peripheral arterial, aortic, venous, vascular access, acute stroke and vascular trauma. Live, edited live and workshop demonstrations will complement the main sessions, and experts in every field will weigh up the important issues head-to-head in CX debates.
Present and future COVID-19 challenges
CX 2022 will open with a dedicated session on the effect of COVID-19 challenges upon vascular management, addressing present and future issues. Speakers from around the world—including from the UK, Mexico, Finland, Italy, France and The Netherlands— will share their experiences of how the pandemic has affected and continues to affect vascular surgery patients. The COVID-19 session will also address how the pandemic poses a significant challenge to skills learning and training of vascular specialists. The programme stresses the global nature of the issue, with speakers from the UK’s Rouleaux club, European Society for Vascular Surgeons in Training (EVST), the World Federation of Vascular Societies (WFVS) and the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) all taking to the podium.
A key focus: Addressing amputation rates
Another important focus at this year’s meeting will be the reduction of amputation. Kristina Hagenström (University Medical Continued on page 6
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