Master Course in Heart Failure 2026 - Skopje
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Ort
Skopje, North Macedonia
Type of event
on site
Invitation
We are pleased to invite you to the second Master Course in Heart Failure, which will be held in Skopje from September 17th to 19th, 2026. The Course is organized with the support of London Heart House and Zurich Heart House. Heart failure remains one of the most significant challenges in modern cardiovascular medicine. Despite remarkable advances in diagnosis and treatment, it continues to a ect millions of patients worldwide and demands a multidisciplinary, evidence-based approach. The course has been carefully designed in alignment with the latest guidelines, aimed to bridge the gap between cutting-edge science and everyday clinical practice,
equipping you with knowledge that can be directly applied to improve patient care.
To meet this need, for the second time we have partnered with leading European experts and dedicated educational centers, specifically the Zurich Heart House and the London Heart House. The goal of the course is to further strengthen a top-tier educational program in heart failure, bringing together expertise, innovation, and practical clinical knowledge. This educational program will o er the opportunity to share the latest scientific insights from Europe`s leading experts, along with interactive training to enhance diagnostic and management skills for heart failure patients.
Whether you are here to deepen your clinical expertise, stay up to date with evolving research, or connect with colleagues from around the world, we hope this course will be both informative and inspiring.
We are pleased to invite you to the Master Course in Heart Failure in Skopje 2026—an excellent opportunity to deepen your knowledge, connect with leading international experts, and strengthen your professional network.
We wish you a productive and rewarding experience.
Yours sincerely,
Irena Mitevska, MD, PhD, FESC
President of National Society of Cardiology of North Macedonia
Preliminary Programme
Day 1, Thursday September 17th, 2026
| 10:00-12:00 | Session 1: Heart Failure: Update on the 2026 ESC Guidelines Chairs: Thomas F. Lüscher, London and Jorgo Kostov. Skopje | |
| 10:00 | Welcome by Course Directors | Jorgo Kostov, Irena Mitevska Skopje |
| 10:10 | Learning outcomes | Tanja Angjusheva, Skopje |
| 10:20 | Heart failure – the new 2026 ESC Guidelines | Sotiria Liori, Athens |
| 10:40 | 2026 ESC Guidelines on Cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease | Nilufar Mohebbi, Zurich |
| 11:00 | 2026 ESC Guidelines on Cardiac Rehabilitation | Dominique Hansen, Hasselt |
| 11:20 | 2026 ESC Guidelines on 5th Universal definition of myocardial infarction | Thomas F. Lüscher, London |
| 11:30 | Panel discussion | |
| 12:00-12:30 | Keynote Lecture: AI/ML in cardiovascular disease | Thomas F. Lüscher, London |
| 12:30-13:15 | LUNCH | |
| 13:15-14:30 | Case-based Interactive Learning – I (Breakout Sessions in three groups) | |
| Advanced Echocardiography in HF | Alison Duncan, London | |
| Assessment of congestion by ultrasound diagnostics | Planinka Zafirovska,Valentina Andova, Belgrade/Skopje | |
| Stress echocardiography in coronary and non-coronary conditions | Anastasia Vamvakidou, London | |
| 14:30-16:25 | Session 2: Assessing and Diagnosing Heart Failure Chairs: Thomas F. Lüscher, London, Marija Zdravkovic, Belgrade | |
| 14:30 | Clinical assessment of HF | Milka Klincheva, Skopje |
| 14:50 | Challenges in the diagnosis of heart failure ECG | Shouvik Haldar, London |
| 15:10 | Ergo spirometry in diagnosis of HF | Dejana Popovic, Mayami |
| 15:30 | F.O.C.U.S. | Aleksandar Neshkovic, Belgrade |
| 15:50 | Differential diagnosis of cardiomyopathies | Ali Amr, Heidelberg |
| 16:10 | Panel discussion | |
| 16:25-16:40 | COFFEE BREAK | |
| 16:40-18:15 | Session 3: Cardio-oncology Chairs: Aldostefano Porcari, London, Marija Busheva, Skopje | |
| 16:40 | The size of the problem | Sonja Salinger, Nis |
| 17:00 | The ESC Guidelines on Cardio-oncology: what happened since? | Thomas Suter, Bern |
| 17:20 | Cardiotoxicity in heart failure | Sebastian Szmit, Warsaw |
| 17:40 | Amyloid heart disease | Aldostefano Porcari, London |
| 18:00 | Panel discussion | |
| 18:30 | Welcome Reception, Macedonian Chamber of Commerce session, Get Together | |
Day 2, Friday September 18th, 2026
| 09:00-11:10 | Session 4: The Cardiometabolic Syndrome Chairs: Petar Seferovic, Belgrade, Marjan Boshevski, Skopje | |
| 09:00 | Obesity and heart failure: effects of GLP-1 agonists | Gianluigi Savarese, Stockholm (remote) |
| 09:20 | Diabetes and heart failure: effects of SGLT-2i | Petar Seferovic, Belgrade |
| 09:40 | CKD and cardiovascular risk: assessment and management | Irena Mitevska, Skopje |
| 10:00 | Hypertension: Lifestyle, medication or intervention? The 2024 ESC and ESH Guidelines | Daniela Grizelj, Zagreb |
| 10:20 | LDL-C and Lipoprotein (a): novel therapeutic options | Florian Kronenberg, Innsbruck |
| 10:40 | Panel discussion | |
| 11:00-11:30 | COFFEE BREAK | |
| 11:30-13:15 | Session 5: Arrhythmias and Cardiomyopathies Chairs: Ali Amr, Heidelberg, Ivan Trajkov, Skopje | |
| 11:30 | Atrial fibrillation in HF: epidemiology and prognosis | Lidija Popovska, Skopje |
| 11:50 | Patient selection for CRT-D or CRT-P: the 2024 ESC Guidelines | Vassil Traykov, Sofia |
| 12:10 | Catheter ablation of Afib: radiofrequency, cooling or PFA? | Predrag Stojadinović, Prague |
| 12:30 | Current management of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: devices and/or medication? | Ali Amr, Heidelberg |
| 12:50 | Panel discussion | |
| 13:15-14:00 | LUNCH | |
| 14:00-15:15 | Case-based Interactive Learning II (Breakout Sessions in three groups) | |
| Advanced Echocardiography in HF | Alison Duncan, London | |
| Assessment of congestion by ultrasound diagnostics | Planinka Zafirovska,Valentina Andova, Belgrade/Skopje | |
| Stress echocardiography in coronary and non-coronary conditions | Anastasia Vamvakidou, London | |
| 15:15-15:45 | COFFEE BREAK | |
| 15:30-17:30 | Session 6: Valvular Heart Disease Chairs: Alison Duncan, London, Anna Sonia Petronio, Pisa | |
| 15:45 | The 2025 ESC Guidelines on valvular heart disease | tbd |
| 16:05 | Multimodality imaging before, during and after valvular interventions | Alison Duncan, London |
| 16:25 | TEER for mitral and tricuspid regurgitation | Sotiria Liori, Athens |
| 16:45 | Ultrasound diagnostics in aortic valvular disease | Elizabeta Srbinovska, Skopje |
| 17:05 | Panel discussion | |
| 17:15-17:30 | COFFEE BREAK | |
| 17:30-18:45 | Session 7: Pulmonary hypertension and HF Chairs: Irene Lang, Viena, Hristo Pejkov, Skopje | |
| 17:30 | Pulmonary hypertension in HF | Tanja Angjusheva, Skopje |
| 17:50 | How do we treat PAH, when do we need triple therapy | Hristo Pejkov, Skopje |
| 18:10 | Balon pulmonary angioplasty -state of the art | Irene Marthe Lang, Vienna |
| 18:30 | Panel discussion | |
Day 3, Saturday September 19th, 2026
| 08:30-10:30 | Session 8: Interventions in Heart Failure Chair: Marija Polovina, Belgrade, Tanja Angjusheva, Skopje | |
| 08:30 | PCI works in ischemic cardiomyopathy in selected patients | Marija Polovina, Belgrade (remote) |
| 08:50 | Micro axial pump, ECMO or LVAD in acute HF | Ivan Knezevik, Ljubljana (remote) |
| 09:10 | Medication is better than PCI in ischemic cardiomyopathy | Jorgo Kostov, Skopje |
| 09:30 | Cardiogenic shock after acute myocardial infarction: current management and prognosis | Zarko Hristov, Skopje |
| 10:00 | Panel discussion | |
| 10:30-11:00 | COFFEE BREAK | |
| 11:00-12:15 | Case-based Interactive Learning III (Breakout Sessions in three groups) | |
| Advanced Echocardiography in HF | Alison Duncan, London | |
| Assessment of congestion by ultrasound diagnostics | Irena Kotlar/Ana Chelikik, Skopje | |
| Stress echocardiography in coronary and non-coronary conditions | Anastasia Vamvakidou, London | |
| 12:30-12:45 | Closing Session | |
| Wrap-up and Adjourn | Tanja Anguseva & Jorgo Kostov & Irena Mitevska | |
| 13:00 | LUNCH | |
*The programme might be subject to change.
General Infomation
Registration
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Registration fees | |
| Standard fee | Euro 180 |
| Early registration fee (until September 01, 2026) | Euro 150 |
| Member of the National Society of Cardiology of N. Macedonia | Euro 160 |
| Member of the National Society of Cardiology of N. Macedonia Early registration fee (until September 01, 2026) | Euro 130 |
| Special fee: PCHF Zurich and London graduate / Fellow in training/ Undergraduate medical student | Euro 110 |
| Special fee: PCHF Zurich and London graduate / Fellow in training/ Undergraduate medical student Early registration fee (until September 01, 2026) | Euro 80 |
Detailed Course Information regarding the registration, venue etc. can be found HERE!
Venue
Hotel “Marriott”, Skopje
„Macedonia“ Square No. 7
Accreditation
The MasterCourse in Heart Failure Skopje 2026 has been accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®) for a maximum of 17.0 European CME credits (ECMEC®s).
Under the auspices of
