As well as in the aftermath of the first COVID-19 wave in 2020, the Stent-Save a Life! global initiative held its 2021 Annual Forum virtually in June and offered the participants an informative, practical and educational programme.

The event was also the opportunity for Christoph K Naber to announce his decision to step down as Chairman of the Stent-Save a Life! Board – a position he has held for the last 5 years – and to introduce Jan J piek as the new Chairman of the Board.

Christoph K Naber was appointed Chairman of the Board of Stent for Life – the original non-profit organisation that has been tremendously effective in Europe, having helped improve the access to primary PCI for patients in all member countries without exception – in 2016.

Over the years, Christoph K Naber actively ensured the continuity of the Stent for Life programme under the new distinguishing and global Stent-Save a Life! mark as the initiative spread beyond the European borders reaching out into Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Under his leadership, the Stent-Save a Life! community expanded to 33 member countries pursuing together the mission of “improving the delivery of care and patient access to the lifesaving indications of primary percutaneous coronary intervention, thereby reducing mortality and morbidity in patients suffering from acute coronary syndromes”.

Christoph K Naber also worked at establishing the presence of the global initiative within the international community of interventional cardiology; he completed the Stent for Life economic model project initiated in 2009 – delivering final results that demonstrate the financial, economic and clinical benefit of timely admissions and pPCI treatment for STEMI patients – and influenced the Stent-Save a Life! Blueprint project whose output is a methodological guide for countries on how to set-up effective regional STEMI networks (manuscript to be published soon).

More recently, on behalf of Stent-Save a Life! and in partnership with PCR, Christoph K Naber launched the We CARE initiative with William Wijns and a group of internationally renowned interventional cardiologists aiming at restoring appropriate and timely care for cardiovascular patients during the COVID-19 pandemic through education, information and training.

Christoph K Naber remains committed to Stent-Save a Life! and will, from now on, facilitate the communication and decision process between the Board and the Advisory Board of the initiative.

Jan J Piek, a new Chairman to lead the global initiative for the next few years

With immediate effect, Jan J Piek – Stent-Save a Life! co-Chairman of the Board for the past 18 months – is taking over the Chairmanship to lead the efforts of the global initiative for the next years.

Previous to being appointed co-Chairman in January 2020, Jan J Piek was a Stent-Save a Life! Ambassador for many years having actively contributed in different regions of the world.

He is the former director of the Heart Centre of the Amsterdam University Medical Centre and also the editor-in-chief of the Netherlands Heart Journal. Recently, he became emeritus professor in clinical cardiology supervising Ph-students and now performing outpatient cardiac care. His well-acknowledged experience led him to be a reviewer of the ESC guidelines and protocols on myocardial revascularisation and is also much sought out in the national public affairs like in the medical industry.

Thomas Alexander, the new co-Chairman of the Board

To support Jan J Piek in his new role, Thomas Alexander, Stent-Save a Life! Country Champion for India, accepted the position of co-Chairman of the Board.

Senior interventional cardiologist and Head of Division of Cardiology at Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, Coimbatore (India), Thomas Alexander has been, through his continuous and increasing involvement, a cornerstone of the Stent-Save a Life! initiative since the programme started spreading beyond Europe, more specifically in relation to STEMI systems of care and the Blueprint project.

As a founder of STEMI India – a not-for-profit organisation set-up to address challenges preventing appropriate and timely reperfusion of patients suffering from AMI in India – and Course Director of the STEMI India international meeting, Thomas Alexander is recognised as a pioneer in research in developing STEMI systems of care in India.

The quality of his project management skills, demonstrated in the various ventures he led in his country, should definitely serve the Stent-Save a Life!’s needs to help improve patient access to primary PCI in the low- and middle-income member countries, hence contributing to advance the mission at a global level.

Acknowledgements

Let’s thank Christoph K Naber for his fervent and committed involvement during his term with Stent-Save a Life! and wish him the best for his future endeavours.

And join us in welcoming Jan J Piek and Thomas Alexander in their new roles wishing them all the best and much success taking the Stent-Save a Life! initiative to the next level.