Helping to care for the cardiovascular health of each person in Ireland

Professor Pascal McKeown

President, Irish Cardiac Society

As cardiovascular disease remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality, we must work to enhance cardiovascular health on the island of Ireland.

The Irish Cardiac Society was established in 1949 as the professional society for clinicians in Ireland whose primary interest is in cardiovascular medicine and surgery.

Strategy promoting cardiovascular health

Over the past seven decades, we, at the Society, have grown and embraced the advancements that have taken place. This has led to an expansion in services, including subspecialisation, with a focus on prevention, diagnostics and treatments for established cardiac diseases. In 2022, we developed a new strategy, which will set a roadmap for the coming years. There are five main pillars: education; registries; research; advocacy; corporate governance. Education is a core activity, where

Connected to cardiology globally

We encourage our trainees to undertake Fellowships outside of Ireland and bring back their enhanced knowledge and skills for the benefit of our population. We also focus on maintaining strong partnerships with many international organisations, including the British Cardiovascular Society, the European Society of Cardiology, the American College of Cardiology and the World Heart Federation. This facilitates our members to keep abreast of developments on the global stage.

We aim to ensure that our patients have access to relevant and innovative research studies.

Relevant and recent research

There is increasing evidence that patients managed in research-active centres have better outcomes, so we aim to ensure that our patients have access to relevant and innovative research studies. The need to have up-to-date information on disease prevalence, risk factors, treatments, outcomes and quality of care necessitates the development of registries. This information will allow us to benchmark how Ireland compares to other countries.

Patient-centric and inclusive support

We recognise the importance of advocacy for our patients and members to ensure optimal cardiovascular health and wellbeing. Our core values are underpinned by diversity, equity, inclusivity and belonging and we have a very active ‘Women in Cardiology’ group. We also support the work of our wider cardiology multidisciplinary team members. As we strive for excellence in our activities, we can improve cardiovascular health for our population.