Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology (GW-ICC)
30 years of leading cardiovascular medicine in China
English name：Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology (GW-ICC)
Chinese name：长城心脏病学会议
GW-ICC Vision
Ideal Health, Healthy Aspiration
GW-ICC Mission
Introduction, Innovation, Cooperation, Development
GW-ICC Approach
Academic, Open, Leading, Sharing Expertise
GW-ICC Focus
Quality and Service
GW-ICC Scope
Four Strands: Public Welfare, Prevention, Standardization and Innovation
Advocate the Three Returns: Return to Humanities, Return to Clinical, and Return to Basic Skills
GW-ICC Aspirations
Technology Exchange
Interdisciplinary Integration
Extensive Chinese and International Cooperation
Online Information
GW-ICC President
Founding President (1989 ~ 2014): Professor Hu Dayi
Second President (2015 ~ 2016): Professor Ma Changsheng
Third President (2017): Professor Han Yaling
Fourth President (2018): Professor Zhang Jian
Fivth President (2019):Professor Chen Yihan
Sixth President (2020): Professor Cong Hongliang
1．GW-ICC History
The Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology (GW-ICC) was founded by renowned Chinese cardiologist Professor Hu Dayi, and Professor German Di Sciascio in 1989.
After 29 years, from the original meeting with one hundred delegates, GW-ICC has grown into a large conference with more than ten thousand participants, covering the Asia-Pacific area, but with global coverage. The congress has developed from a single discipline to a comprehensive academic programme which covers basics to clinical aspects of cardiovascular disease with multidisciplinary research; from being hosted by a single hospital to co-sponsorship by renowned Chinese and international societies and institutions; from surgery broadcast from a single hospital to more than ten Chinese and international transnational surgery demonstrations; from a traditional meeting format to full multimedia coverage. The development of online network meetings, multimedia interaction and digital conference management has allowed GW-ICC to become a truly international conference covering Chinese, Asian-Pacific and international research.
GW-ICC has led the development of cardiovascular medicine in China, supported the outcomes of the introduction and promotion of new concepts and technologies, strengthened and promoted international cooperation and exchanges and facilitated development of collaborations with the pharmaceutical industry.
Today, GW-ICC and the Asia-Pacific Heart Conference are committed to the prevention and rehabilitation of cardiovascular disease; as well as other emerging areas, such as prevention and treatment of chronic non-communicable diseases, and to promote the development and training of healthcare professionals.
2. GW-ICC contribution to the development of cardiovascular medicine in China
2.1. Promotion of new technologies
For many years, under the leadership of the founding president, Professor Hu Dayi, GW-ICC maintain an open, innovative and reforming attitude, actively expanding the conference, which is the driving force behind the success of GW-ICC.
Since its conception, GW-ICC has always been committed to introducing a variety of internationally leading intervention technologies and new methods to China with continuous promotion and improvement to make them suitable for local conditions.
In addition, the interpretation and implementation of domestic and international clinical guidelines is also an important role of GW-ICC. Over the years, many of the important clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines developed in China have utilized GW-ICC as the main promotion platform, promoting from Tier III hospitals to primary hospitals, allowing the study and practice of the guidance by many more doctors.
2.2 Advocacy
Since the foundation of the GW-ICC, the congress has always aimed to lead the development of cardiovascular medical trends, to support and develop the future of cardiology developments in China. To this end, GW-ICC continues to introduce and promote new ideas, such as smoking cessation, exercise, rehabilitation, healthy population and e-health services, which has led the development of related disciplines in China.
Nowadays, the concept of evidence-based medical knowledge is widely accepted; GW-ICC played an important role in the dissemination and promotion of evidence-based medicine concepts in China.
2.3 Continued expansion of GW-ICC within China
GW-ICC has developed from a conference with thousands of delegates to its current registration numbers of twenty thousand participants in 2018. The influence of GW-ICC for Chinese doctors has increased gradually, which relates to the GW-ICC approach of continuous development and innovation.
In the past 29 years, the participants of GW-ICC have expanded from doctors of Tier III hospitals to those of Tier II hospitals. In recent years, more and more doctors from county hospitals or community hospitals have started to attend GW-ICC, demonstrating an extended and deepening influence of GW-ICC in China.
Doctors from all provinces and municipalities, and autonomous regions including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions have attended GW-ICC from the start. Doctors from both urban and rural regions travel thousands of miles to attend the congress, which has inspired GW-ICC committees to develop better and more informative congress sessions and services.
2.4 GW-ICC’s international reach
Over the years, it has become a tradition for delegations of important cardiology associations around the world to attend GW-ICC, which is crucial to the pioneering, innovative international focus of GW-ICC.
Presidents of more than ten societies and organizations including the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA) , the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the World Heart Federation (WHF), will lead delegations attending the 30th GW-ICC, to hold join-forums and other academic activities. In addition, ESC @ GW-ICC will bring the latest insights from its annual meeting and interpretation and commentary on their latest guidelines, including programmes for translation and dissemination of these guides within China.
Cooperation with International Societies is not limited to their attendance at GW-ICC. GW-ICC also holds similar academic activities at the annual meetings of these eminent societies, such as GW-ICC at ACC, GW-ICC at AHA and GW-ICC at ESC, which will introduce some of our important academic achievements internationally, expanding the influence of Chinese academics and research organizations.
3. 30th GW-ICC: Fight against cardiovascular diseases in China
From October 10 to 13 October 2019, the 30th Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology (GW-ICC) was held in Beijing, China. Founded by renowned Chinese cardiologist Dayi Hu in 1989, the congress has always aimed to improve heart health by enhancing the capacity of cardiovascular (CV) disease prevention and control in China in the past 30 years. As the largest and most influential CV academic event in the Asia-Pacific region, the GW-ICC’s mission is to introduce cutting-edge knowledge and technologies, to foster local progress and innovation, and to lead the development of CV medicine in China. More than 22700 delegates from 42 countries participated in this year’s congress, with 515 sessions, 2620 presentations covering the entire spectrum of CV diseases. Fifty-six joint sessions were hosted with major cardiac societies and organizations around the world.
In the opening session, Prof. Chen Yihan, the President of the 30th GW-ICC, gave a speech on how would the congress contribute to fighting against CV disease in China. Helping the society to build the capacity in healthy lifestyle promotion and CV risk factors control would be the priority of the congress. Particular efforts would be undertaken to improve quality and efficiency of primary care, and to support the Chinese cardiologists keeping pace with the state-of-the-art progress. The GW-ICC was also working with the National Health Commission Capacity Building and Continuing Education Center and the National Institute of Hospital Administration, to carry out quality improvement initiatives. The GW-ICC also endeavored to help the young generation in their career development. Fellow-in-training (FIT) program, which was cooperated between GW-ICC and America College of Cardiology (ACC), recruited 50 young doctors for training this year. International Mentored and Exchange (BIME) Fellow Program established one to one tutorial relationship between young Chinese doctors and top scientists in the American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Cardiovascular Sciences (BCVS) council.
Opening ceremony of 30th GW-ICC, Beijing, China, 2019
