New guidelines published for the treatment of aortic disorders
For years, disorders of the aorta, the main heart artery, have been among the main causes of death in western industrialised nations: More people die of the effects of hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis) than of cancer or infectious diseases. As a result, advancement in diagnostics and treatment are of major importance. Now, at the „ESC Congress 2014“ in Barcelona the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has succeeded in issuing new guidelines complete with extended instructions, helpful advice and decision aids by Prof Dr Raimund Erbel from Essen and Prof Dr Victor Aboyans of Limoges in France. These have been developed by a task force made up of 20 international ESC heart experts. The aim is to be in a position to help more patients with aortic disorders across the world.
(firmenpresse) - For years, disorders of the aorta, the main heart artery, have been among the main causes of death in western industrialised nations: More people die of the effects of hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis) than of cancer or infectious diseases. As a result, advancement in diagnostics and treatment are of major importance. Now, at the „ESC Congress 2014“ in Barcelona the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has succeeded in issuing new guidelines complete with extended instructions, helpful advice and decision aids by Prof Dr Raimund Erbel from Essen and Prof Dr Victor Aboyans of Limoges in France. These have been developed by a task force made up of 20 international ESC heart experts. The aim is to be in a position to help more patients with aortic disorders across the world.
As leader of the task force, Prof Dr Raimund Erbel, Director of the Cardiology Clinic at the West German Heart Centre of the University Hospital of Essen (UH Essen), is expecting the new guidelines to lead to a step-function in the treatment of these disorders: “The previous recommendations were published as long ago as 2001 and only dealt with the aorta in the chest area and diagnosis and treatment of aortic dissections, i.e. ruptures in the aorta wall. The new guidelines now also include disorders of the abdominal artery and, in particular, aneurysms of the abdominal aorta. Disorders such as inflammation of the aorta (aortitis) and aortic tumours are also very important: Congenital disorders and hereditary diseases of the aorta are addressed", says Prof Erbel.
Also included for the first time is a flow chart to aid decision-making in cases of "acute aortic syndrome". Physicians and researchers use this umbrella term to refer to a wide array of acute aortic disorders in the same way as "acute coronary syndrome" is used to refer to a large number of cardiac and circulatory disorders. The flow chart helps case doctors assess whether the life of a patient in under threat and which further steps need to be taken immediately and specifically in diagnosing and treating the patient. This is important since such disorders have a high level of mortality which grows by the hour. "The bottom line is that the new guidelines offer heart specialists across the world standardised aids for significantly more aortic disorders than before. This means they're better equipped to deal with serious situations and are better able to make the right decisions faster. Because, with aortic disorders, seconds really do count, this means the guidelines can help save more patients' lives", explains Prof Erbel.
The last 13 years have seen major progress in imaging thanks to computer tomog-raphy (CT) and magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) technology - both in service at UH Essen - enabling medics to examine the aorta in much greater detail than before. Prof Erbel says that it is now possible, using a software package, to create a 3D reconstruction of any patient's aorta and to examine the entire structure of the aorta.
Essen also assisted in further development of diagnostics and treatment by devel-oping a hybrid room. In this heart catheter lab, we can carry out not just catheter-based interventions, but also entire complex operations (where anaesthetics are administered). Prof Erbel is certain that this progress in several areas was the key enabler behind re-publication of the guidelines as new treatment plans have been included which were only able to be developed thanks to our hybrid room.
In order to translate the improvements to day-to-day clinical settings, the ESC spe-cialists recommend setting up "Aortic Centres" in hospitals including doctors spe-cialising in cardiology, radiology, heart and vascular surgery, paediatric cardiology and genetics. "Because of their complexity and risks, aortic disorders call for close collaboration between experts across many medical disciplines in order to be in a position to reach a decision on the best way forward for each individual patient. As a result, the "Aortic Teams" approach avails itself of the same blueprint as that of heart teams. Some centres in Europe using such teams - among them UH Essen - point to a good record of successes. The potential for similar successes should be created at other locations also. Accordingly, we are calling for widespread introduc-tion of such centres of excellence", explains Prof Erbel.
One reason for re-publishing the recommendation, he says, is the demographic trend: “Aortic diseases are to a great extent a disease of the elderly and are becoming more common as the population ages. Thanks to improved diagnostic and treatment possibilities, new best-practice examples and clear recommendations included in our guidelines, we have the right starting point for combatting this. It's now up to the large clinical centres, who already have the aforementioned experts on hand, to set up "Aortic Teams" to be in a position to implement these recommendations and give patients the benefit of the very best treatment", concludes Prof Erbel.
Further information on the new ESC guidelines and documents can be obtained in the following title: 2014 ESC guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of aortic diseases. European Heart Journal. 2014, doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehu281 or under http://www.escardio.org/guidelines-surveys/esc-guidelines/Pages/GuidelinesList.aspx.
Themen in dieser Pressemitteilung:
aorta
illness
treatment
esc
esc-congress-2014
prof-raimund-erbel
prof-victor-aboyans
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heart
cardiology
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About the University Hospital of Essen (UH Essen)
As a maximum care hospital, the University Hospital of Essen (UH Essen) is currently the largest single-campus university hospital in the Ruhr conurbation, making it truly the “the Hospital of the metropolitan Ruhr area“. Each year, approximately 50,000 patients are hospitalised in the 1,300 beds, and 165,000 outpatients treated. 5,800 experts from a wide variety of disciplines across 27 clinics and 22 institutes ensure excellent interdisciplinary diagnosis and treatment at the cutting edge of research. The three pillars of research, teaching and patient care form the common thread linking all we do at UH Essen - and our focus is, at all times, on the individual. In addition to research into genetic medicine, immunology and infectious diseases, UH Essen has concentrated successfully for years on the three main areas of oncology, cardiovascular medicine and transplants. With the West German Tumour Centre Essen, Germany’s largest tumour centre, the West German Heart Centre Essen, which performs more than 2,000 operations per year, and the top international transplant centre, where all the vital organs, i.e. liver international, kidney, pancreas, heart and lungs, are transplanted, UH Essen has built up an outstanding position.
Prof Dr Raimund Erbel
Director of the Cardiology Clinic
Tel.: +49 (0) 201 723-4801
raimund.erbel(at)uk-essen.de
http://www.uk-essen.de/kardiologie
Kristina Gronwald
Vice Press Officer
Office of Marketing and Communications
Tel.: 0201/723-3683
kristina.gronwald(at)uk-essen.de
www.uk-essen.de
Datum: 30.08.2014 - 09:57 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 335614
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Kategorie:
Surgery & Treatments
Typ of Press Release: Erfolgsprojekt
type of sending: Veröffentlichung
Date of sending: 30.08.2014
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