The 5th All-Russian Meeting, entitled “Modern approaches to the treatment of acute coronary syndrome, with the support of the Stent-Save a Life initiative”, was held in Moscow at the A.V. Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery on September 7-8, 2018.

During this two-day meeting covering many topics on the treatment of coronary syndromes, the first plenary session addressed the current situation with regard to primary PCI treatment in Russia. The deputy Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, Dr Evgeny G. Kamkin, gave an opening speech on the federal approach of cardiovascular disease control while Prof. Jan J. Piek (the Netherlands), Ambassador for Stent-Save a Life!, later summarised the objective of the global initiative as well as the achievements obtained so far regarding improved patient access to primary PCI in order to reduce mortality following acute myocardial infarction. Moreover, some new initiatives, such as the development of a travel app to help cardiac patients during their stay abroad, were presented.

Professor Alekyan (Moscow) – coordinator of Stent-Save a Life! in Russia – gave an emotional speech on the necessity to improve the existing situation of primary PCI in Russia. Indeed, the logistical problems are colossal resulting in approximately 30% only of the AMI patients being treated with primary PCI. The lack of clear understanding of the problem extent due to the absence of ACS registry, a flawed appreciation of the organisational structure required to improve access to primary PCI, a low primary PCI rate due to no coordination between the primary PCI centres, cardiologists’ strong lobbying for less effective treatments (thrombolysis) and a poor population education (average patient delay >4 hours from symptom onset); all these identified issues keep contributing to a high level of mortality in the acute phase of the disease and, subsequently, a high death rate from heart failure and arrhythmias. In this respect, the present situation in Russia is comparable to that of many Eastern Europe countries about a decade ago.

Professor Alekyan being the driving force behind the Stent-Save a Life initiative! in Russia, there are strong hopes the current conditions will improve under his guidance. From a political point of view, the presence at the session of the deputy minister of Health of the Russian federation, Dr. Evgeny G. Kamkin, was crucial as Professor Alekyan’s presentation conveyed a clear message to the politicians in charge of improving the treatment of Russian patients with acute coronary syndromes.