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Heart Failure Society Of America 12th Annual Scientific Meeting to Focus on Optimal Treatment, Innovative New Approaches, New Insights Into Mechanisms and Social Issues

The scientific program will kick off with an opening plenary session, "Aerobiology, The Environment and Cardiovascular Health," on Monday, September 22 at 8:10 a.m. Simultaneous sessions will include presentations by national and international heart failure experts, scientists, and allied health care professionals. Many will focus on the progressive treatments for heart failure and the increased risk faced by patients.

"This year's conference will present exciting new information about the causes and treatment of heart failure, and the important socio-economic issues surrounding this condition," said Dr. Barry Greenberg, HFSA President, and Professor of Medicine, Director, Heart Failure/Cardiac Transplantation Program at The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

Other scientific meeting sessions that address issues relating to heart failure include:

    -- Particulate Matter Air Pollution and Heart Health
    -- Athletes and Sudden Death Syndromes
    -- Naturoceuticals and Heart Failure: Innocuous and Harmful?
    -- Hope in the Hopeless Situation: Palliative Care
    -- Nitric Oxide as a unique signaling molecule in physiology

-- Guideline updates on management of heart failure patients receiving cancer chemotherapy

-- Update on the genetic evaluation of heart failure

Late Breaking Clinical Trials to be presented that address issues relating to heart failure include:

-- SADHART Trial: Safety and Efficacy of Sertraline for Depression in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

-- PARTNERS HF: Multi-Site Program to Access and Review Trending Information and Evaluate Correlation to Symptoms in Patients with Heart Failure

For a complete list of annual meeting sessions or for details on attending the conference, call (617) 226-7198 or visit http://www.hfsa.org and click on Annual Scientific Meeting. There is no registration fee for accredited journalists. Interview areas will be available on-site in addition to a fully-staffed press room with phone and internet accessibility.

About Heart Failure

Heart failure is a progressive condition in which the heart muscle becomes weakened after it is injured from heart attack or high blood pressure and gradually loses its ability to pump enough blood to supply the body's needs. Many people are not aware they have heart failure because the symptoms are often mistaken for signs of getting older. Heart failure affects from 4.6 to 4.8 million individuals inthe United States. Demographic and clinical evidence strongly suggest the prevalence of heart failure will increase throughout the next decade. Ten to 15 years ago heart failure was considered a "death sentence;" however, recent advances in treatment have shown that early diagnosis and proper care in early stages of the condition are key to slowing, stopping or in some cases reversing progression, improving quality of life, and extending life expectancy. For more information on heart failure, please visit http://www.abouthf.org.

About the Heart Failure Society of America

The Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) is a nonprofit educational organization, founded in 1994 as the first organized association of heart failure experts. Today HFSA has over 1,700 members and provides a forum for all those interested in heart function, heart failure research and patient care. The Society also serves as a resource for governmental agencies (FDA, NIH, NHLBI, CMS). The HFSA Annual Scientific Meeting is designed to highlight recent advances in the development of strategies to address the complex epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic issues of heart failure. Additional information on HFSA can be found at http://www.hfsa.org.

SOURCE The Heart Failure Society of America