We look forward to welcoming you all to AICT-AsiaPCR 2023, the official meeting of the Asian Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology, being held on 21-22 September 2023 in Singapore. The preparations started well in advance, and the course directors who represent both APSIC and PCR, along with the meeting organisers, Europa Group, have spent innumerable hours brainstorming to achieve a most exciting educational programme. As the President of APSIC, I invite you all to attend and enjoy the exchange of knowledge, build camaraderie and develop academic partnerships across boundaries, and to showcase your research and innovations. It is a platform in the Asia-Pacific region for interacting with the world.
This is the first year since the COVID era began that we feel confident COVID is behind us and our lives are back to normal. This is also the first AICT-AsiaPCR in the post-COVID era without COVID restrictions. The meeting has been made compact and focused over 3 days only, with the first full day devoted to a Fellows Course (for career interventionalists). Seven to eight live cases from centres in Singapore, the UK, and India, as well as numerous sessions on “complications” in partnership with the National Societies of the Asia Pacific region, will be the highlight of the meeting, with an emphasis on learning and sharing. Please take this opportunity to share knowledge in the open spirit of friendship and camaraderie.
The APSIC continues to strengthen bonds with its member countries to consolidate its representation of interventional cardiologists in the Asia-Pacific region. Over the past year, we have inducted to the board and officially nominated representatives of 12 more national societies, namely the Afghanistan Cardiovascular Association (ACA), Cardiological Society of India (CSI), Hong Kong Society of Transcatheter Endo-Cardiovascular Therapeutics (HKSTENT), Iraqi Cardiothoracic Society (ICS), Cardiovascular Society of Mauritius (CSM), Mongolian Society of Interventional Cardiology (MSIC), Cardiac Society of Nepal (CSN), Philippine Society of Cardiovascular Catheterization and Intervention, Inc., (PSCCI), Saudi Arabian Cardiac Interventional Society (SACIS), Cardiovascular Intervention Association of Thailand (CIAT), Emirates Cardiac Society (ECS), and the Vietnam Society of Interventional Cardiology (VSIC). Thus, at this time, APSIC encompasses 29 countries across nine time zones, from New Zealand in the east to Saudi Arabia in the west. This is a great opportunity to work together on numerous combined registries to better understand the heart disease patterns in our region and to tailor treatment options to achieve the best outcomes.
Over the past year, we have worked closely with the Asia Pacific Society of Cardiology (our sister Society) to support and endorse the creation of “consensus statements” on the Management of Left Main Stenosis, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation, and Management of Ischaemic Cardiogenic Shock. We have also worked closely with regional societies to impart education through sessions at their national meetings, like the National Heart Association of Malaysia’s MYLIVE Congress 2022, GulfPCR-GIM 2022, Taiwan Transcatheter Therapeutics (TTT 2023), Pakistan Live Interventional Cardiology (PSIC) meeting 2023, Saudi Arabian Cardiac Interventional Society annual meeting 2023, Bangladesh Society of Cardiovascular Intervention (BSCI)’s annual scientific meeting “BD INTERVENTION” 2023, Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology Congress 2023 (Singapore) and the annual meeting of the Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics (CVIT2023).
The creation of WIN-APSIC (Women-In-Asian Pacific Society of Interventional Cardiology), a subcouncil of APSIC1, has stood as one of the most important initiatives of our society’s contribution to defining awareness of gender diversity, not just in the understanding of cardiac disease processes and treatments, but also for professional training, participation and career advancement in interventional cardiology. In this regard, the leadership and enthusiasm of Fazila Malik (Bangladesh) and Mirvat Alasnag (Saudi Arabia) as Chair and Co-Chair, respectively, have been admirable. The council now has women interventional cardiology representatives from 13 countries. Lim Ing Haan, the organiser of the WIN-APSIC Webinar Series, has planned a calendar of important educational webcasts every 3 months. The first of these, “Multivessel PCI in Women: Real World Challenges and How to Achieve the Best Outcomes”, held on 3 May 2023, was acclaimed by all faculty and participants for the knowledge and awareness of its content. WIN-APSIC has also initiated an Asia-Pacific registry for Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) in partnership with the ongoing European Society of Cardiology (ESC) registry. Other important Asia-Pacific dedicated surveys are planned.
Let us together define a new era for interventional cardiology in the Asia-Pacific region. Let us pool our immense professional experience, our admired technical expertise, our defining techniques and technology, and our pathbreaking research and innovations. Let us inspire our younger generation of interventional cardiologists to dream and deliver the best for cardiac patients across the world.
Conflict of interest statement
A. Seth is acourse director of the AICT-AsiaPCR Course.
