HeFSSA — Home Page

Welcome to the Heart Failure Society of South Africa

The Heart Failure Society of South Africa (HeFSSA), is the first of its kind in Africa. Hefssa was formed in 2005 under its parent body, the South African Heart Association (SAHA).

HeFSSA’s mission is to promote research and collaboration on heart failure issues in South Africa and around the world.

Echocardiography Workshop 2009 (Stellenbosch, Apr 18)

March 2009 – The Heart Failure Society of South Africa offers ‘hands-on’ training in echocardiography, specifically in methods used for assessing and managing patients with heart failure. (Download PDF)

Some of the topics on the tentative programme include:

The normal trans-thoracic echo
Optimising machine settings
What is required in an echo report
Assessment of LV systolic function
Assessment of diastolic function
Tissue Doppler and intra-cardiac haemodynamics
Assessment of RV function

SA Heart Congress 2009 (Sun City, Oct 22 - 25)

JANUARY 2009 – HeFSSA is the principal SA heart special interest group responsible for organising the 2009 SA Heart Congress. This is a major undertaking and we are grateful to those who have committed to being part of the organising committee – Prof K Sliwa as chair, Dr’s Chris Jeff Harrisberg (Paediatric), E Klug, K O’Connell, M Makotoko, C Radulescu and D Smith as well as G Nel. Representatives from other special interest groups and industry will be invited to join. Sonja du Plessis (Londocor) has been appointed as the professional congress organiser.

The next congress organising committee meeting will be on 14 February 2009 in Johannesburg, this full day meeting will predominantly focus on the academic program. Interested in contributing? Please contact the HeFSSA Office (info@hefssa.org or 083-458-5954).

Heart Failure Congress 2009

JANUARY 2009 – The Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC is organising a joint session with the HeFSSA during the Heart Failure 2009 Congress, 30 May-2 June, Nice, France. Members of Hefssa have been invited to speak and share a joint session.

HeFSSA echocardiography programme

AUGUST 2008 – The next course will be held on Sunday November 2 (11h00 to 17h00), at the SA Heart Congress 2008 (Wild Coast Sun). The course will be organised by Dr Shirley Middlemost, Dr Darryl Smith and Dr Christina Radulescu with support from the HeFSSA executive. For inquiries please contact Franciska du Toit (HeFSSA office) at 082-806-1599 or e-mail info@hefssa.org.

European and South African heart failure societies affiliate

AUGUST 2008 – The respective executives of HeFSSA and the European Heart Failure Society have recently approved the mutual affiliation of the two societies. This development will in the future ensure mutual benefit through academic and research collaboration. (Download pdf)

HeFSSA and the European Heart Failure Society will host a joint symposium during the next European Heart Failure meeting in Nice, France (May 30 to June 2, 2009), to be followed by a similar symposium during the SA Heart Congress 2009. (Download pdf)

HeFSSA educates the public

Healthcare professionals

JULY 2008 – HeFSSA was asked to give an interview on SABC International. Prof Sliwa covered the causes and consequences of heart failure and discussed the findings of the Heart of Soweto Study. She also provided information on a condition called peripartum cardiomyopathy, a serious heart condition affecting one in 1 000 women in Africa.

See Peripartum Cardiomyopathy – a common condition in many parts of the world (PDF)

In July and August HeFSSA embarked on a countrywide workshop series on heart failure in primary care. This programme has been made possible through the support of Pharmadynamics. The primary audience is general practitioners, nurses and related healthcare professionals. The focus will be on recent advances in diagnostic tools and improvement of treatment strategies (non-pharmacological, pharmacological and devices). The workshops will also coincide with the introduction of the updated heart failure treatment algorithm for South Africa.

HeFSSA's countrywide workshop on heart failure in primary care.

Report on second echocardiography course

APRIL 2008 – The second echocourse organised by HeFSSA was held on March 13-14 at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Sandton. The course was organised by Dr Shirley Middlemost, Dr Darryl D Smith, Dr Christina Radulescu and the HeFSSA executive. Thirty-six delegates from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and other cities, as well as from Kenya, attended.

Topics included:

‘Can you estimate hemodynamics?’
‘How to get the best images’
‘Right side of the heart: What can echo tell you?’
‘Tissue Doppler imaging’

The next course will be held at the SA Heart Congress, Wild Coast on Sunday the 2nd of November 2008.

The SA Heart Congress

APRIL 2008 – HeFSSA is the principal Special Interest Group responsible for the SA Heart Congress to be held in October 2009.
The Congress organising team is:

Prof Karen Sliwa
Dr Eric Klug
Mr George Nel
Dr Christopher Hugo-Hamman
Dr Kevin O’Connel
Dr Makoali Makotoko

The official congress organising company is Londocor, represented by Sonja du Plessis.

Heart of Soweto Data Published

MARCH 2008 – Prof Karen Sliwa’s important Heart Of Soweto Registry has collected data on 4602 consecutive patients attending the Baragwanath Hospital Cardiac Clinic between January and December 2006. Fifty-two percent of patients presented with heart failure, underlining the importance of this syndrome and hence the ongoing efforts to create a vital, useful Heart Failure Society.

HeFSSA extends reach in 2007

November 2007 – The past year has seen the inaugural HeFSSA Executive fulfil its mandate to establish a viable independent Special Interest Group (SIG) within the SA Heart Association, attending to the many needs of the community of medical practitioners with an interest in heart failure in South Africa and Africa. (Read more in our newsletter.)

2007 Fellows Workshop on Echocardiography

NOVEMBER 2007 – HeFSSA recently held its 2007 Fellows Workshop, which focused on echocardiography, specifically the methods used for assessing and managing patients with heart failure. Ten fellows currently in training attended the workshop. The workshop will be an annual event.

Participants at the 2007 Fellows Workshop.

HeFSSA Makes Impact at Kenya Congress

Dr Kemi Tibazarwa and Prof Karen Sliwa at PASCAR.

JUNE 2007 – PASCAR together with the Kenyan Cardiac Society and HeFSSA had a very successful congress in Nairobi, Kenya, in May. HeFSSA played a very important organisational and academic role in the planning, conducting and presentation of the congress.

Prof Karen Sliwa and Dr Eric Klug, besides chairing sessions and organising the poster sessions, presented on “The Burden of Heart Failure in Soweto” and “Inotropes in Heart Failure” respectively. Vinesh Vaghela, a member of HeFSSA, presented on “Beta-blocker treatment in Africa” and another member of our society, Kemi Tibazarwa, spoke on “Heart Awareness Day in Soweto”.

Medtronic, who provided important sponsorship to HeFSSA attendees and our lunch time meeting for this congress, reported excellent attendance at their exhibition kiosk at the congress. The lunchtime meeting held jointly between HeFSSA and the WHFS (World Heart Failure Society) was very well attended and both Karen Sliwa and Pim Remme (President of WHFS) presented information on their respective societies.

Pictured at the HeFFSA/WHFS lunchtime meeting (PASCAR), from left: Dr Kemi Tibazarwa (Tanzania), Dr Anna Mcumbi (Mozambique), Prof Karen Sliwa, Dr Eric Klug, Prof Pim Remme and Dr Vinesh Vaghela.

Prof Karen Sliwa Leads HF Task Force

JUNE 2007 – The Pan African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR) has confirmed Prof Karen Sliwa's appointment as convenor of the Task Force on Heart Failure recently established at the society's general assembly in Nairobi, Kenya.

The task force will develop and define political and scientific/research guidelines for the society on issues related to heart failure.

Acute HF Registry Now Recruiting

JUNE 2007 – Most participating centres in the Acute Heart Failure Registry project now have ethics committee approval and recruitment has started. Read more about the Acute Heart Failure Registry here.

Pilates Exercises To Help Your Heart

MAY 2007 – HeFSSA has teamed up with Pilates fitness trainer, Debbie Smith, to provide online Pilates exercises on its website.

Studies have shown that regular exercise improves endothelial function, quality of life and outcome. Pilates exercises are simple, do not increase your heart rate, do not need any expensive equipment and can be done anywhere.

You can find the exercises under the "Education" section here.

Fifty Abstracts for Kenyan Cardiology Meeting

MAR 2007 — Interest is growing in the 1st All Africa Conference in Kenya which runs from May 13 to May 16. As part of the scientific and abstract committee, HeFSSA has already received about 50 abstracts for the conference.

The Pan African Society of Cardiology and the Kenya Cardiac Society are convening the multi-disciplinary conference on heart disease, diabetes and stroke, the first of its kind in Africa. HeFSSA has been invited to organise the heart failure symposium.

Read the announcement poster and the draft programme.

Report Back from HeFSSA AGM

OCT 2006 — The HeFSSA annual general meeting was held in Somerset West on 31 October 2006. During the meeting, Prof Karen Sliwa summarised the activities of HeFSSA in 2005/2006, which can be read in HeFSSA's annual report, and Dr Olaf Forster gave an overview of HeFSSA's financial position. A new executive committee was elected unanimously, as was Prof Karen Sliwa to the position of chairperson for the next two years.

See the minutes of the meeting and HeFSSA's annual report here (PDF; 32kb).

Welcome to Our New Website!

AUG 2006 — The Heart Failure Society of South Africa (HeFSSA) recently launched its website, www.hefssa.org. The website will promote the activities of the society and keep members up to date with the latest news, views and research on heart failure in South Africa.

"With the website, we hope to provide an updated and relevant look at heart disease on the African continent," says executive committee chair, Prof Karen Silwa. "Hefssa.org will also further our mission to promote national and international collaboration on heart disease."

The website features include:

an education section, where users can find out about case studies, hot topics and fellowship opportunities;
a membership section, with eligibility guidelines and application forms for membership;
a research section, which will contain research output by HeFSSA members; and
a news section, with reports on the society's activities.

The website also contains a comprehensive about us section, with information on the executive committee, corporate members, the HeFSSA constitution, links to interesting sites and a subscription form to its mailing list.

A New Society is Born

Members enjoy the sunshine while attending a HeFSSA workshop at Kloofzicht Lodge in February 2006. (enlarge image)

FEB 2006 — The Heart Failure Society of South Africa (HeFSSA) is an official special interest group affiliated to its parent body, the South African Heart Association (SAHA).

The 6th Annual Congress of SAHA, held in the Drakensberg in October 2005, was the venue for our inaugural meeting. Prof Willem Remme, a prominent European cardiologist, welcomed the efforts to establish an African heart failure society and spoke of both the European and World Heart Failure Societies.

Forty six attendees signed on as members during the inaugural meeting and together with messages of support from Australia through Prof Simon Stewart, encouragement from Prof Bongani Mayosi of the University of Cape Town and a clear enunciation of our aims and plans by Prof Karen Sliwa (Chairperson of HeFSSA) from WITS, the meeting was indeed a wonderful initial expression of the enthusiasm that appears to be present among interested members of SAHA’S broad community of cardiologists, specialist nurses, technologists, allied disciplines and representatives of the pharmaceutical and device industry.

We thank Professors Tshimbi Mathivha, Anton Doubell, Albert Amoah from Ghana, Albertino Damasceno from Mozambique, and Patrick Mokhobo, for showing their support for the society, and we appeal to members of SAHA both in private and public health arenas to fill in their membership forms and become members of the first heart failure society on the African continent.

Dr Eric Klug
Secretary
Interim Committee

News from around the world

(Google News Feed)