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Herzzentrum Göttingen

Welcome to the EU-CERT-ICD Symposium 2026

Dear colleagues and friends,

we are delighted to welcome you to Göttingen for the EU-CERT-ICD Symposium on 30 October 2026.

Since our last in-person meeting in 2018, the EU-CERT-ICD consortium has reached important milestones. Together, we have completed major follow-up phases, generated valuable scientific insights, and published more than 30 peer-reviewed manuscripts. These achievements reflect the commitment and collaboration of all project partners The symposium will provide an opportunity to review recent developments, discuss new scientific findings, present ongoing work packages, and exchange ideas for future research. We are particularly looking forward to sharing the latest study results and discussing their implications for clinical practice and future guideline recommendations. Beyond the scientific programme, the meeting offers the opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and strengthen our collaborative network. 

On behalf of the organizing team, we cordially invite you to join us in Göttingen and look forward to welcoming you in person.

Tim Friede | Constanze Schmidt | Markus Zabel

EU-CERT-ICD is one of the largest European research initiatives investigating the role of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) in the prevention of sudden cardiac death. The project brings together leading clinical and scientific partners from across Europe to generate robust evidence on the benefits, risks, and cost-effectiveness of primary preventive ICD therapy.

Through its prospective study, multinational registry, and extensive scientific analyses, EU-CERT-ICD has produced important findings that contribute to a better understanding of patient selection and outcomes. The consortium’s work supports evidence-based clinical decision-making and provides valuable insights for future guideline recommendations.

8.00 am Introduction
Constanze Schmidt (Department of Cardiology and Pulmonology, UMG Göttingen, Germany)
Markus Zabel (Department of Cardiology and Pulmonology, UMG Göttingen, Germany)

8.05 am Keynote address ICD benefit in primary prophylactic indications, the Profid EHRA project + Discussion
Gerhard Hindricks (German Heart Center at Charité (DHZC), Berlin, Germany)

8.35 am Advisor´s Comment | “New data on the use of ICDs for primary prevention / SCD risk stratification in TAVR" + Discussion
Alfred Buxton (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA)

9.05 am Status and Plans for Work Package 01 | Prospective Study + Discussion
Markus Zabel (Department of Cardiology and Pulmonology, UMG Göttingen, Germany)

9.25 am Status and Plans for Work Packages 02 (Retrospective Registry) and 04 Gender Issues + Discussion
Christian Sticherling (University of Basel, Switzerland)

9.45 am Advisor´s Comment | “Refine-ICD: The ICD for primary prevention in the 2020s" + Discussion
Derek Exner (University of Calgary, Canada)

10.15 am Coffee Break

10.45 am Status and Plans for Work Package 06 | T-wave Morphology and the Postural Maneovres Holter project + Discussion
Marek Malik (Imperial College, London, UK)

11.30 am Status and Plans for Work Package 07 | Fractionation and Early Repolarization + Discussion
Juhani Junttila (University of Oulu, Finland)

11.50 am Status and Plans for Work Package 08 | Heart Rate Variability and Heart Rate Turbulence + Discussion
Georg Schmidt (Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, Technical University of Munich, Germany)

12.10 am Status and Plans for Work Package 08b | Periodic Repolarization Dynamics + Discussion
Konstantinos Rizas (Cardiology Department, Technical University of Munich, Germany)

12.30 pm Lunch Break

1.20 pm Advisor´s Comment | “ECG markers of repolarization and fragmentation for SCD risk stratification and identification of patients suitable for primary prophylactic ICD therapy”+ Discussion
Michael R. Franz (Georgetown University Medical Center & Washington DC VA hospital, USA)

1.50 pm Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Risk Stratification of Patients prone to Sudden Cardiac Death +Discussion
Clemens Dlaska (University Clinic for Internal Medicine III, Graz, Austria)

2.10 pm Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Risk Stratification within EU-CERT-ICD 2019/2020 + Discussion
Björn Laabs (Department of Medical Statistics, UMG Göttingen, Germany)

2.30 pm Coffee Break

2.45 pm Status and Plans for Work Package 10 | Statistics and Meta-Analyses + Discussion
Tim Friede (Department of Medical Statistics, UMG Göttingen, Germany)

3.05 pm Longitudinal Risk Stratification – Techniques and Possibilities + Discussion
Bert Vandenberk (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium)

3.25 pm Status and Plan for the Coronary Angiography substudy + Discussion
Jaroslaw Damian Kasprzak (Department of Cardiology at Medical University of Łódź, Poland)

3.45 pm Coffee Break

4.00 pm Status and Plan for the Heart Rate asymmetry substudy + Discussion
Przemek Guzik (Poznan University of Med. Sciences, Poznan, Poland)

4.20 pm EU-CERT-ICD secondary analyses using first or second follow-up | Polish perspective 
Andrzej Lubinski (Department of Cardiology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Gdansk, Poland)

4.35 pm EU-CERT-ICD Enrollment of Patients without an ICD | Croatian perspective 
Janko Szavits-Nossan (Magdalena Clinic for Cardiovascular Medicine, Krapinske Toplice, Croatia)

4.50 pm EU-CERT-ICD Enrollment of Patients without an ICD | Bulgarian perspective
Vassil Traykov (Department of Invasive Electrophysiology and Cardiac Pacing, Acibadem City Clinic Tokuda University Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria)

5.05 pm Discussion last 3 talks

5.15 pm Summary and closing remarks
Markus Zabel (Department of Cardiology and Pulmonology, UMG Göttingen, Germany)
Tim Friede (Department of Medical Statistics, UMG Göttingen, Germany)

5.30 pm Farewell

7.00 pm Dinner at the Restaurant Bullerjahn, Markt 9, 37073 Göttingen

The costs will be covered. Please register to participate.

Informal Gathering
Thursday, October 29th, 2026
Restaurant Esprit,Lange Geismarstraße 19, Göttingen

Symposium Dinner
Friday, October 30th, 2026
7 pm-11pm
Bullerjahn, Markt 9, Göttingen
 

Registration

Please note that travel and accommodation cannot be reimbursed by the organisers and must be covered by participants or their institutions.

Register now

Venue

Historic Observatory Conference Center

Geismar Landstraße 11b, Göttingen

Google Maps

As part of the event, we have reserved a block of rooms for you at the following hotels.

B&B Hotel Göttingen-City

Eden Hotel

Four Points Flex

Additional hotel recommendations without pre-booked room allocations

1 km from the event venue:

1 km to 2 km from the event venue:

2 km to 3 km from the event venue:

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