Conference Matters 142

INTERVIEW

complaints such as shortness of breath and fati gue. Some 500,000 people in the Netherlands suffer from some form of heart failure, which is a fatal disease. Half of people die within five years of the first hospital admission due to heart failure. “It’s an underestimated problem, and that means that tackling heart failure is a high priority for us,” explains Snijder. And last but not least, the Dutch Heart Foun dation faces the daunting task of putting the results of all the high-quality research carried out in the Netherlands into practice. “It’s abso lutely one of our priorities that the results of cardiovascular research reach patients. The valo risation and its implementation are still quite a challenge,” Snijder emphasises. The Foundation’s guiding role Working groups have been created around the above-mentioned themes, which include doc tors, scientists, policymakers, and patients. “You could say that the Dutch Heart Foundation has a guiding role in contributing to what our mission is in the cardiovascular world, namely a healthy heart for everyone, now and in the future.” Although the Dutch Heart Foundation’s focus is on the Netherlands, it is also part of two inter national partnerships. There is the Global Car diovascular Research Funders Forum (GCRFF), a partnership of 12 major international funders of cardiovascular research. And then there is the European Heart Network (EHN), of which Snijder is a board member. In addition, research is initi ated jointly with institutions such as the British Heart Foundation or Germany’s DZHK. Supported by donors As Snijder points out, the Dutch Heart Founda tion does not organise conferences or profile itself doing so. Apart from the fact that there are organisations that are already doing this well, this also results from the financing of the Dutch

and Vascular Agenda, which is part of its strategy to measurably improve heart health by 2030. “It’s a necessity, knowing that six out of ten hospital admissions are related to cardio- vascular disease. There are currently 1.7 million Dutch people, or about 10 percent of the population, with cardiovascular disease. If we don’t take action, this number is expected to rise to one million more in ten years. With these kinds of figures, you sometimes forget what personal suffering lies behind these enormous numbers. That’s close to our hearts,” says Snijder. “Researchers and scientists now agree that three of those six hospital admissions can be prevented or postponed by creating an environ ment in which healthy living is easy,” Snijder adds. “To put it bluntly, we eat and drink too much, and we don’t exercise enough. This makes prevention a top priority, and it’s important that you not only look at the individual but also at the influence of the environment.” “The price and availability policy of smoking, the number one cause of death related to cardio vascular problems, is a good example of this. Increasing the price and decreasing availability have been effective in reducing smoking. We’re

working on this together with the Lungfonds and the KWF Dutch Cancer Society. On April 1, the price of a pack of cigarettes increased signifi cantly again, with cigarettes no longer being sold in supermarkets.” Warn faster Another priority is to warn faster. “Since it’s also crucial to discover cardiovascular problems in time, a lot of the research is increasingly aimed at preventing the worse.” According to Snijder, diversity is another pillar on the agenda. “In cardiovascular diseases, we are increasingly taking into account differences between people, between men and women, rich and poor, and the fact that we’re dealing with a society that we now call bi-cultural.” The next step is a custom treatment. “The development is towards personalised medicine, and a lot of research still needs to be done,” says Snijder. Heart failure is underestimated A condition that has additional priority in research is heart failure, in which the heart can not pump enough blood and results in serious

‘CONFERENCES SHOULD DISTRACT YOU FOR A WHILE’ This year, exceptionally, the Dutch Heart Foundation is organising a conference. This summer, it will receive fellow members of the European Heart Network in Amsterdam. Then about 50 people from around the world who are involved in similar organisations to the Dutch Heart Foundation will come together. Snijder believes that it is important that the conference get people out of their daily work and thought patterns. “There must also be room for personal stories. For example, we have a highly regarded cardiologist on the programme who was a heart patient himself and talks about it. We have a number of break-out sessions in which you discuss with each other in smaller groups. And we do speed dating sessions where you can quickly exchange information about your specialty and what projects you’re working on.” I also asked a leading journalist to outline the European setting, as the congress takes place on the eve of the European elections. It’s important that you get out of your own bubble for a while, which is my view on conferences. You need to be distracted for a while by taking note of perspectives that are less common in your daily work.”

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