AfricaPCR 2015 A Course by and for the African Cardiovascular community The second annual AfricaPCR congress will take place in in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 26th – 28th March. Bringing together interventional cardiovascular specialists and cathlab staff from throughout the continent and internationally, this Course is dedicated to the advancement of cardiovascular care in Africa. Taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa from the 26th to the 28th of March, AfricaPCR 2015 will provide specialists the opportunity of examining issues and exchanging ideas and clinical knowledge in the treatment of cardiovascular disease in Africa. Bringing together world renowned specialists, Course Directors Drs. Farrel Hellig of South Africa and William Wijns of Belgium, assisted by AfricaPCR’s Co-Directors Drs. Bernard Gersh (USA), Sajidah Khan (South Africa), Tom Mabin (South Africa), Ganesh Manoharan (United Kingdom), Christoph K. Naber (Germany), Mpiko Ntsekhe (South Africa) and Harun Otieno (Kenya), AfricaPCR 2015 will continue to build on the wide variety of themes identified during the first AfricaPCR Congress in 2014, focussing on what is essential for providing the highest level of cardiovascular care. Africa, with its unique pathologies requires particular expertise, posing distinct challenges. The continent is extremely diverse in both patient types and the kind and quality of infrastructures that exist. There is a critical shortage of interventional cardiologists in the public healthcare sectors, making education and training a top priority. The African experience is also of great relevance and interest to other developing areas of the world, such as China and India, which are faced with similar levels of diversity and developmental concerns. AfricaPCR has been conceived as a dialogue within Africa itself, as well as with Europe and the rest of the world. All PCR courses are designed to be effective educational tools and this course offers a combination of the African and PCR experience, with the goal of facilitating the exchange and expression of clinical knowledge and practice. Growing out of an in-depth analysis of unmet needs by both the public and private sectors, as well interaction with participants from the first edition of the course, this year’s AfricaPCR sessions will include:      STEMI, its effective treatment in different African regions Exploring solutions to the challenges involved in setting up cathlabs and managing patients in those areas with limited resources. The treatment of high-risk patients, atrial septal defects, left atrial appendage closure and left main interventions. Approaches to periprocedural pharmacology. Special sessions for allied practitioners, as well as the popular “interactive case corner” where participants share and discuss their cases in a small, intimate environment. AfricaPCR is dedicated to improving cardiovascular care in Africa. The “predominantly African faculty” is further “bolstered by specialists from Europe and America” whose expertise, in the words of Course Director Farrel Hellig, “represent healthcare environments that can be aspired to, but which will never be exactly the same as those in Africa itself”. The challenge for AfricaPCR and its participants is to adapt these internationally recognised “standards of care” to what is “appropriate to the specifically African environment”, in order to offer the best cardiovascular care possible throughout the continent. More details on all the topics covered during AfricaPCR 2015, as well as the updated interactive programme and information about the PCR Family can be found at www.africapcr.com. Contact: Claudette Lamont, Europa Organisation Africa, Tel. +27 (0)11 325 0020 or email: [email protected]