"Asia cardiac arrythmia summit (ACAS) is the only full English-language cardiac rhythm conference founded in China, which is oriented to the clinicians in frontline, aiming to promote the development of arrhythmology and electrophysiology in Asia, and is a good opportunity for young and middle-aged electrophysiologists to improve their academic level and broaden their horizons. China cardiac ablation summit (CCAS), which is co-organized with ACAS, aims to exchange the ablation experiences of atrial fibrillation, special supraventricular tachycardia, atrial tachycardia and ventricular tachycardia in the form of lectures and case discussions. The feature of the conference is a special session on complications which aims to exchange lessons learned to improve operation safety. In addition, the conference also offers participants training equipments to practice. ACAS aims to provide a high-end exchange platform for clinicians to share their valuable practical experience and make progress together." This was the keynote speech delivered by the current chairman, Prof. Yan Yao of Fu Wai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, during the opening ceremony of ACAS 2017 which held in Kunming on November 17, 2017.
Prof. Yao presided over the opening ceremony of ACAS 2017, Prof. Peng-sheng Chen and Chen Shih Ann delivered the opening speech. Samuel J. Asirvatham, Wang Xunzhang, Younghoon Kim, Akihiko Nogami, Sunny Po Ouyang Feifan, Yoshito Iesaka, Tom Wong, Prof. Rodney Horton and other internationally renowned cardiac rhythmologists and the schoolars from 15 countries including USA, UK, Japan, Czech Republic, Singapore, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, Pakistan, Malaysia participated in the conference.
On the following day, Prof. Yao and Prof. Wang Medallion from cedars-sinai Heart Institute, Los Angeles, USA, delivered opening remarks on CCAS2017, and Ouyang Feifan, sunny Po, Hua Fu, Yuehui Yin, Hongde Hu, Pihua Fang, Guoqiang Zhong, Chaofeng Sun and nearly 300 young and middle-aged clinicians attended the opening ceremony.
The important point of the conference is the demonstration of full 3D mapping and RF ablation of complex and difficult cases using new technologies and new therapies. Moreover, the conference focused on the issue of complications, such as "Vascular complications of catheter ablation", "Conduction system injury", "Complications of atrial fibrillation ablation", and "Cardiac perforation/rupture", which attracted many clinicians from Southeast Asia. It is the first conference in cardiac rhythmology in China to offer a special session on complications, this session accounted for about half of the contents of CCAS. In this session, the operators sincerely shared their experiences and lessons learned in order to enhance operation skills and improve operation safety.
During the three-day conference, experts and scholars from home and abroad came together, and internationally renowned experts participated in the whole conference and discussed enthusiastically, presenting an academic feast with prominent themes. There were 1 main conference hall, 3 sub-courts, 8 English themed sessions and 17 Chinese themed sessions, nearly 400 medical experts and scholars attended the conference.
In the conference, Prof. Yao had an extensive exchange with the participants and said that "The arrhythmia interventional therapy of China has now entered the stage of independent innovation, and some areas have entered the advanced ranks in the international arena. We are sincerely pleased to see that some domestic cardiac centers have also proposed innovative approaches in recent years. And the conference requires that speakers must introduce their own experiences and innovations, or even lessons learned. At the same time, we also want to pass on advanced innovative achievements and ideas from China to countries in the Asian through this platform, which is our ultimate goal."
Through sharing and discussion, we learn from each other and grow together, and we look forward to meeting again next year to share the academic feast!