Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young’ was one of the key points discussed during the Symposium

• Padmashree Dr K M Cherian and Dr N Sivakadaksham felicitated with Life Time Achievement Award

• International experts and faculties across India were part of the one-day conference

Kauvery Hospital Chennai, a unit of Kauvery Group of Hospitals, a leading multispecialty healthcare chain in Tamil Nadu, organized the International Cardiogenetic Symposium on the “Recent Advancements in the Management of Inherited Heart Diseases.”

The one-day conference had experts from Cardiology and Cardiac Electrophysiology from India and abroad, such as Dr. Sanjay Sharma, Professor of Inherited Cardiac Diseases & Sports Cardiology & Consultant Cardiologist St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust, London, Prof. Arthur Wilde Professor of Heart Failure & Arrhythmias Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Prof. Dr. Dhavendra Kumar UK – Honorary Clinical Professor / Hon. Consultant Clinical Geneticist, Inherited Cardiac Diseases Unit, St. Bart’s Hospital, UK to name a few.

India is one of the top-ranked countries in high cardiac disease burden, where 45% of deaths in the 40–69-year age group is caused by cardiovascular diseases. The Indian population has a very distinctive and diversified genetic composition making them more susceptible to heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and many other conditions.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Dilated Cardiomyopathy, and Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy and Channelopathies are some of the most common inherited heart diseases.

“Inherited heart disease does not show any signs or symptoms initially and is often overlooked. A sudden collapse or death of a dear one leaves them shattered and also parallelly makes them realize their potential genetic risk. This risk can be managed only when there is enough awareness. There is still a significant lack of awareness regarding ‘Cardiac Risk in Young’ and the associated ‘Sudden Cardiac Death’ due to inherited cardiomyopathies & channelopathies, especially in India. The field of Cardiogenetics is rapidly evolving and the availability of next-generation sequencing has made routing genetic testing affordable in India to identify the genetic change in the affected person and subsequent family screening,” says Dr. Anantharaman R, Senior Interventional Cardiologist Kauvery Hospital and Organising Chairman of International Cardiogenetics Symposium.

A multidisciplinary team of Cardiologists, Cardiac Surgeons, Electrophysiologists, and Geneticists working together in a setup like ‘The Center of Excellence for Inherited Heart Diseases at Kauvery Hospital’ is essential for managing these complex conditions and at-risk families effectively. “This conference was a platform to learn from the International experts regarding the recent advancements in therapies and interact with National experts with similar interests and learn from each other,” added Dr. Anantharaman R.

At the conference, Padmashree Dr K M Cherian and Dr N Sivakadaksham were felicitated with the lifetime achievement award. Dr Cherian, is a pioneer in Pediatric and Adult Cardiac Surgeries and Heart and Lung Transplantation. He has also been instrumental in conducting research in Stem Cell Therapy and Teaching. Dr Sivakadaksham has been practicing and teaching Cardiology for over three decades, and has set benchmarks in the field.

Speaking about the symposium, Dr. Aravindan Selvaraj Co-Founder and Executive Director Kauvery Hospital Chennai says, “The Department of Cardiology at Kauvery Hospital has been at the forefront of adapting to new advancements in cardiac care. As part of this continuous improvement and advancements, we wanted to share and exchange knowledge on inherited heart disease management. This symposium brought together some of the most accomplished researchers and clinicians in the field of cardiogenetics who shared their knowledge, expertise, and latest research findings, providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge and future directions in this exciting field. We are also honored to felicitate Padmashree Dr K M Cherian and Dr Sivakadaksham N, who have been pioneers in the field of Cardiology.”