The right side of the heart has historically received less attention than its left
counterpart. Yet there is a substantial body of evidence showing that right ventricular
size and function are perhaps equally important in predicting adverse
outcomes in cardiovascular disease and that severe tricuspid regurgitation
is associated with a poor prognosis, independent of other factors including
age, biventricular systolic function, size of the right ventricle, and dilation of the
inferior vena cava. Moreover, right ventricular dysfunction is associated with
excess morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic left-sided heart failure,
acute myocardial infarction (with or without right ventricular involvement),
pulmonary embolism, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and congenital heart
disease. Advances in non-invasive imaging of the right heart, particularly with
echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance, have yielded insights into
the pathophysiology of right ventricular failure complicating different cardiac
conditions. Finally, new treatment options have become available to support
right ventricular function as well as to repair the regurgitant tricuspid valve.
Accordingly, the Department of cardiac, thoracic and vascular sciences of the
University of Padua together with the Menarini Foundation have designed a
course to discover the most recent updates about the pathophysiology, diagnostic
workflow and management of the diseases affecting the right heart.
To provide the highest level of education, we have gathered to most renown
expert from all over the world to share their experience in order to provide
an exciting scientific program. To put all this in the right context, the course
will take place in the Botanical Garden of the University of Padua which was
founded as a medicinal resource in 1545 by the Venetian Republic and it is the
world’s oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location. The
opening ceremony will be hosted at the Palazzo del Bo, the historical place of
the University of Padua and its Medical School founded in 1222.
Sabino Iliceto
President of the Meeting