Berzelius Symposium 111: Acute and Chronic Heart Failure 2026
The Swedish Society of Medicine, together with the Swedish Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery, is pleased to announce Berzelius Symposium 111 – a multidisciplinary meeting focusing on acute and chronic heart failure.
This symposium will bring together leading national and international experts to review and discuss the latest developments in diagnosis, treatment, and management of heart failure.
Target audience:
Cardiologists, internal medicine specialists, general practitioners, cardiothoracic surgeons, anesthesiologists, intensive care clinicians and other professions interested in the field.
Key themes:
- Heart failure remains associated with very high morbidity and mortality
- Management and treatment are multidisciplinary and require close coordination
- Optimal care involves a broad spectrum of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches
- Collaboration across specialties is essential for improved outcomes
Berzelius Symposium now has its own website
Visit to explore the program, find practical information, and register today.
Program
The program will run from Wednesday to Friday, featuring case-based discussions, expert presentations (15–20 minutes with discussion), and a symposium dinner on Wednesday evening.
Program day 1
Moderators: Göran Dellgren and Styrbjörn Blohmé
07.30-08.00 Coffee
08.00-08.15 Welcome, Introduction of day
Case presentation by Styrbjörn Blohmé, Stockholm
08.15-08.45 Definitions, types (HFrEF, HFpEF), etiologies leading to Heart Failure HF
Maria Generosa Crespo-Leiro, Cardiology, A Coruña, Spain
08.45-09.15 Epidemiology, molecular mechanisms and genetics in chronic heart failure?
Gustav Smith, Professor and senior consultant in cardiology, Gothenburg University and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
09.15-09.45 Congestive Heart Failure, what are the diagnostic challenges?
Gerhard Wikström, Cardiology, Uppsala
09.45-10.15 Break and coffee
10.15-10.45 Arrhythmias and congestive heart failure
Frieder Braunschweig, Cardiology, Karolinska, Stockholm
10.45-11.15 Why Some Hearts Adapt and Others Fail - Exploring the variability of the failing heart
Kristjan Karason, MD, Transplantation Center, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg
11.15-11.30 Case Unveiling Presentation
11.30-12.30 Lunch
Diagnostic Section in CHF
Case presentation by Emely Ögren, Gothenburg
12.30-13.00 Imaging with echocardiography in CHF
Maria Eriksson, Associate professor, Clinical Physiology, Dpt Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm
13.00-13.30 Why are biomarkers important in CHF – the evidence and how I use them?
Dr Kieran Docherty, Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist, School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health, University of Glasgow, Scotland
13.30-14.00 Investigation of specific cardiomyopathies and therapeutic implications
Arash Mokhtari, Associate Professor, Consultant Cardiologist, Heart Failure Section, Skåne University Hospital
14.00-14.30 A pathologist’s perspective on pathophysiology in Congestive Heart Failure
Anders Oldfors, Professor/Senior Consultant, Clinical Pathology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg
14.30-15.00 The Value of MR in Congestive Heart Failure
Marcus Carlsson, Physiology, Karolinska, Stockholm
15.00-15.30 Break and coffee
16.00-16.30 Tricuspid insufficiency and right ventricular strain in heart failure?
Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure
16.30-17.00 What have we learned from the Swedish Heart Failure Registry?
17.00-17.30 Heart Failure and valve diseases – when is intervention or surgery preferred?
Anders Jeppsson, Surgery, Sahlgrenska, Göteborg
Cecilia Linde, Cardiology, Karolinska, Stockholm
17.50-18.00 Case Unveiling Presentation
18.00 Photography
18.15 Drink, Mingel and Symposia Dinner at the Swedish Society of Medicine
Program Day 2
Moderators: Lena Jideus and Nadia Sandström
07.30-08.00 Coffee
08.00-08.15 Introduction of day
Case presentation by Nadia Sandström, Örebro
Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure, cont
08.45-09.15 CHF and Drugs – what Evidence and for what?
Lars Lund, Cardiology, Karolinska, Stockholm
09.15-09.45 PCI or CABG in CHF and CAD – when to choose what?
Elmir Omerovic, Cardiology, Sahlgrenska, Göteborg
09.45-10.15 Break and coffee
10.15-10.45 Percutaneous mitral and tricuspid devices in heart failure – when and in whom?
Torsten Doenst, Surgery, Jena, Germany
10.45-11.15 Heart Transplantation and LVAD Bridge-to-HTx – why is it considered gold standard?
Göran Dellgren, Surgery, Sahlgrenska, Gothenburg
11.15-11.45 The recent evolution or revolution of heart transplantation – how did we become the largest institution in the world and how will the future look like?
Ashish Shah, Surgeon, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA
11.45-12.15 Myocardial Recovery: Future Challenges and Opportunities for MCS
Mandeep Mehra, Cardiology, Harvard University, Boston, USA
12.15-12.20 Case Unveiling Presentation and HTx patient perspective
12.20-13.20 Lunch
How to optimize care in hospital and in primary care for CHF patients
13.20-13.30 Case presentation by Jonathan Johansson, Göteborg
13.30-13.50 Bridging the gap between the GP and the cardiologist - better Heart Failure Care Starts in Primary Care
Veronica Milos Nymberg, General Medicine, Malmö
13.50-14.10 Collaboration between hospital heart failure clinics and primary care: key factors to success?
Jonas Spaak, Cardiology, Stockholm
14.10-14.30 CHF patients is best managed by nurses – this is how we do it
Maria Liljeroos, RN, Associate Professor, Mälarsjukhuset Eskilstuna and Linköping university.
14.30-14.45 Panel discussion with speakers and moderators
14.45-15.15 Break and coffee
15.15-15.35 What is the evidence for fluid and salt restrictions in CHF patients?
Linn Höög, RN, MSc, PhD-student, Department of Cardiology, Heart and Vascular Center, Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute Sweden
15.35-15.55 Telemonitoring in Advanced Heart Failure - Clinical benefits, personal experience, and ongoing research
Thomas Mellberg, MD PhD, Heart Failure Specialist, Department of Thoracic Surgery and Cardiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital
15.55-16.15 This is how I work up severe heart failure patients – and where we find them?
Oscar Braun, Cardiology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund
16.15-16.45 Panel discussion with speakers and moderators and case unveiling presentation
Ongoing Scandinavian Studies Impacting CHF Patients
16.45-17.45 Rapid fire presentation - on-going studies - 10 min presentation, 5 min discussion
- STICH Swedeheart study - Björn Redfors, Cardiology, Sahlgrenska, Göteborg
Comparison PCI vs CABG with HFrEF and CAD - SweVAD study - Göran Dellgren, Surgery, Sahlgrenska, Göteborg
RCT between medical management and LVAD in CHF - SPIRIT-HEFpEF study- Lars Lund, Cardiology, Karolinska, Stockholm
Spironolactone Initiation Registry Randomized Interventional Trial in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction - SCAPIS study – Göran Bergström, Physiology, Sahlgrenska, Göteborg
How can the SCAPIS study increase understanding of Heart Failure?
17.55 Resolution of the day
18.00 Mingel
19.00-22.00 Faculty Dinner
Program Day 3
Moderators: Sigurdur Ragnarsson and Emilia Johannesson
07.30-08.00 Coffee
08.00-08.15 Introduction
Case presentation by Emilia Johannesson, Lund
Acute Heart Failure and Cardiogenic Shock
08.15-08.45 Beyond the Pump: Reframing Cardiogenic Shock in Heart Failure?
Mandeep Mehra, Cardiology, Harvard University, Boston
08.45-09.15 Acute heart failure management in the intensive care unit – how and for whom?
Mattias Törnudd, Anesthesia, Linköping
09.15-09.45 Cardiogenic shock in the ICU – how and when should we use ECMO?
Michael Broomé MD PhD, Associate Professor, ECMO Centre, Karolinska University Hospital
09.45-10.30 Break and coffee
Maryjane Farr, MD, MSc, Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Section Chief, Heart Failure, LVAD, Heart Transplantation, Director of Heart Transplant Research, Penn Transplant Institute, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Bengt Redfors, Anaesthesia, Sahlgrenska, Gothenburg
11.30-12.00 Quality-of-life after ECMO and intensive care for acute heart failure – what's known?
Inga lára Ingvarsdóttir, Anaesthesia, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Emil Najjar, Cardiology, Karolinska, Stockholm
12.30-12.45 Case Unveiling Presentation and Resolution of Day, Conclude and Fairwell
12.45-13.30 Lunch