Recent advances in cardiovascular medicine: the tenth Iranian congress on cardiovascular update.

he 10 National Congress on Cardiovascular Update, organized by the Iranian Society of Atherosclerosis, was held in Tehran, Iran (June 11 – 14, 2008). A variety of issues related to advances in diagnostics and treatment in cardiovascular medicine were covered during the congress. Current problems of atherosclerosis, the role of platelets, and inflammatory biomarkers in its accelerated course were comprehensively discussed. Novel antiplatelet agents were indicated to improve outcomes of secondary cardiovascular prevention. The latest achievements in coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, echocardiography, cardiovascular surgery, congenital heart disease, and stem cell research were also overviewed. The 10th National Congress on Cardiovascular Update, organized by the Iranian Society of Atherosclerosis, was held in Razi Convention Center in Tehran, Iran (president: M. Ghasemi, copresident: M. H. Mandegar, secretary general: M. R. Mohammad-Hasani). Though it was primarily aimed at advancing knowledge and experience of Iranian invasive and noninvasive cardiologists, updated information on the latest achievements in cardiovascular medicine was of interest for participants representing academic and clinical centers of Tehran and other cities of Iran, other Middle Eastern countries (Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates), USA, UK, Switzerland, Russia, and Armenia. The program of the congress was quite extensive and covered a broad spectrum of issues related to atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, stroke, arrhythmias, echocardiography, cardiovascular surgery, congenital heart disease, stem cell research, coronary and peripheral arterial interventions, and cardiovascular prevention. A number of state-ofthe-art lectures and oral communications were delivered by distinguished experts during plenary sessions and satellite meetings. Additionally, there was a medical exhibition where advanced medical technologies, cardiac ultrasound and computed tomography devices, different coronary stents, antiplatelet, lipid lowering, and antihypertensive drugs were advertised. In this report, we will discuss some of the recent achievements in cardiovascular medicine presented during the congress. Presentations by K. D. Tourbaf (USA) and A. Y. Gasparyan (UK, Armenia) were concerned with an important role of platelet function in atherosclerosis. Much attention was paid to the interaction of activated platelets with erythrocytes and leukocytes, expression of a variety of inflammatory and thrombotic biomarkers on the surface of platelets at different stages of coronary atherosclerosis. Platelet aggregometry with different agonists was referred as an old, but ‘gold standard’ of the assessment of platelet function in coronary artery disease. A number of antiplatelet agents with antiatherosclerotic and antithrombotic properties were presented. Aspirin as the most widely used antiinflammatory and antiplatelet agent was also considered as a relatively safe Meeting Report