The Auckland City Symposium (ACS) 2024 is scheduled to take place on March 23, 2024, at the University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. The event will focus on cardiovascular risk assessment and perioperative management for non-cardiac surgery, which is a critical aspect of perioperative medicine.

Cardiovascular risk assessment and perioperative management for non-cardiac surgery (NCS) is a core component of every adult anaesthetist’s practice.  It is also an aspect of perioperative medicine where we have real value to add, in terms of the prevalence of disease, and contributors to morbidity and mortality after surgery.

For ACS 2024 ‘At the heart of the matter’ we will explore cardiovascular assessment and management of patients undergoing NCS.  A key focus will be the latest ESC guidelines, so we are very excited to have Professor Christian Mueller as a keynote speaker to talk us through the evidence, highlight new recommendations and the points of difference with other current guidelines. A standardised and patient-centred approach that ‘chooses wisely’ will be a focus of discussion.

Contentious issues around the role of biomarkers post-operatively will be explored, and Dr Su-Yin MacDonell will present the evidence as well as a model of an anaesthesia led out-reach service that she has helped establish in St. Paul’s Vancouver Canada.  Coronary artery disease will be the primary focus, but there will also be updates on broader cardiovascular topics such as pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmias and heart failure, with an impressive line up of local cardiac specialists.

ACS 2024 is revisiting the same topic of the inaugural ACS 15 years ago.  We look forward to exploring the advances in evidence and practice, as well as celebrating the success of what Auckland City Symposium has become with another highly rewarding meeting.

Drs Helen Lindsay, Sara Allen, Dan Cochrane & Neil MacLennan, Co-Convenors ACS 2024

The symposium will feature keynote speakers such as Professor Christian Mueller and Dr. Su-Yin MacDonell, who will discuss topics related to the latest ESC guidelines, the role of biomarkers post-operatively, and anaesthesia for cardiac patients. There will also be sessions covering broader cardiovascular topics like heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmias, and the management of cardiac issues during pregnancy.