The Cardiovascular Risk Management portfolio was well represented at the World Congress of Cardiology (WCC) in Barcelona, Spain, on 2–6 September 2006. Nearly 33,000 delegates convened to discuss recent findings in cardiology and related diseases.
The theme of the Bayer HealthCare booth was "Connecting Cardiovascular Prevention Strategies –Look again, think ahead!". It connected the diagnostic and therapeutic areas of the products presented and underlined their additional benefits. The good position and welcoming, modern design of the booth attracted a large number of visitors. A quiz card that was only readable with ’red reveal’ decoder spectacles, challenged the visitors on their knowledge of key data on the represented products, namely Adalat®, Aspirin®, Pritor/Kinzal®, Glucobay®, Rivaroxaban® (in phase III clinical development) and the B-type natriuretic peptide test (BNP). Furthermore, an electronic-learning tool and on-screen, non-stop presentations updated visitors on the Bayer HealthCare cardiovascular portfolio.
An evening symposium was held on 4 September to review the current status of cardiovascular risk reduction strategies. The symposium, chaired by Professor Lars Rydén (Sweden), was well attended. The programme comprised three debates, each followed by discussion and enthusiastic voting by the audience on key related issues. In the first debate, Dr Henry Elliott (UK) proposed that the management of cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients should focus on blood-pressure lowering. To counter this view, Professor Ton Rabelink (Netherlands) highlighted the value of antihypertensive agents, such as Adalat®, that offer vasoprotective benefits beyond blood-pressure control. The second debate saw Professor Raffaele de Caterina (Italy) advocate the use of low-dose Aspirin® in all patients with cardiovascular disease, unless contraindicated, to reduce the risk of a further cardiovascular event or death. By contrast, Professor Héctor Bueno (Spain) stressed that Aspirin® therapy should be introduced at an earlier stage to prevent a first cardiovascular event. Professor Stefano Del Prato (Italy) started the third debate, highlighting the glycaemic and cardiovascular benefits of Glucobay® in type 2 diabetes patients. Professor Jean-Louis Chiasson (Canada), however, recommended that antihyperglycaemic intervention should be initiated before the onset of type 2 diabetes, and advocated the use of Glucobay® in prediabetic individuals to reduce the risks of developing both diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The data and views presented, and the novel format of the symposium were highly appreciated by the audience.
Bayer HealthCare contributed to the WCC with three further satellite symposia, one each for Aspirin® Cardio, Rivaroxaban® and BNP. In addition, two Pritor/Kinzal® satellite symposia were held in partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim.
Programme Download (196 KB)
