Global Heart Hub 4th Unite Summit Living with CVD and its Connected Conditions

Global Heart Hub welcomed 165 delegates from 34 countries across the globe to Dublin, Ireland on November 3^rd– 5^th for the 4th Annual GHH Unite Patient Summit. This meeting brought together patient organisation leaders, patient advocates & carers, together with clinical experts, researchers, policy makers, and a range of key healthcare stakeholders from around the world to discuss the challenges of living with heart disease and its interconnected conditions such as stroke, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, liver disease and obesity.

The two-day event focused on the challenges of the lived experience and heard from several individuals living with multiple long term connected conditions. Those attending also discussed and heard about innovations in treatment and care for multiple long-term CVD-related conditions. A key aspiration of the Summit was to explore solutions and actionable priorities to improve patient care and quality of life.

Speaking about the Patient Summit, Global Heart Hub’s Executive Director Neil Johnson said “We are delighted to have convened our 4^th GHH Unite Summit and for the first time bringing together the patient communities across heart, stroke, diabetes, obesity, kidney and liver disease to explore the challenges of living with lifelong connected conditions. Those living with co-existing CVD conditions are frequently accessing and receiving care in silos and this presents huge challenges both for the patient and the healthcare system. This meeting highlighted the opportunities and benefits of patient-centred, integrated, holistic care. By bringing the related patient communities together we can create a stronger voice for policy change which can deliver better patient outcomes”

This year’s GHH Patient Summit welcomed twenty international speakers from across the fields of patient advocacy, clinical practice, research, policy and public health. The patient perspective was integrated throughout the programme, anchoring the Unite Summit as the only global, patient-led cardiovascular conference.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who travelled and participated in this year’s Summit. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.