Sports Cardiology 2026
Ljubljana, University Medical Centre
22. april 2026 / April 22, 2026
Datum / Date
22. april 2026
April 22, 2026
POMEMBNI PODATKI / IMPORTANT DETAILS
VABILO IN PREDSTAVITEV SIMPOZIJA / SYMPOSIUM WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
Dr. Katja Azman Juvan
Dear colleagues,
It is with great pleasure and honour to invite you to our Sports Cardiology course which we will be hosting here in Ljubljana in April 2026. Our Mayor claims Ljubljana to be the most beautiful city in the world.
Sports cardiology is a discipline that is still young, yet rapidly evolving, and increasingly essential in ensuring that athletes of all ages can participate in sports safely. Our course offers a unique opportunity where the best of scientific knowledge and clinical practice will come together. A faculty of international experts will provide valuable insights into the latest guidelines and recommendations, especially in the field of upcoming new criteria for interpretation of athletes’ ECG.
Our shared goal is clear: to strengthen our knowledge, refine clinical decision-making, and empower cardiologists, sports physicians, and paediatricians to care for athletes with confidence and excellence. I am certain that the course will serve as a rich platform for exchanging ideas, fostering new collaborations, and, above all, advancing our common mission—promoting safe participation in sports.
Looking forward to seeing you in April!
Katja Azman Juvan, MD, PhD, Chair of the Sports Cardiology Course Ljubljana 2026, Slovenian Society of Cardiology
Dr. Michael Papadakis
Welcome to our Sports Cardiology course, an immersive, highly practical programme designed for clinicians who care for athletes and physically active individuals. I’m delighted to invite you to join a faculty of international experts who will share cutting-edge knowledge and real-world clinical experience across the full spectrum of sports cardiology. The course is strongly practice-oriented, featuring case-based discussions, interactive learning, and a clear focus on clinical decision-making. A key highlight will be the introduction and application of the new criteria for the interpretation of the athlete’s ECG, ensuring you leave confident in evaluating athletes safely, accurately, and consistently in everyday practice.
PREDAVATELJI / FACULTY
Dr. Mark Abela
Dr. Mark Abela is a Cardiology registrar practicing at Mater Dei Hospital in Malta. He has undergone a fellowship in Sports Cardiology and Inherited Cardiac Conditions at St George’s Hospital in London. His main academic and clinical interests are athletic cardiac adaptation, cardiac screening and inherited cardiac conditions. He read for an MSc (with distinction) in Sports Cardiology (St George’s University, London). He has been appointed as a fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC) and the American College of Cardiology (FACC).
Following his fellowship in Sports Cardiology, he pioneered several Sports Cardiology initiatives in Malta. He is the sports cardiology clinic lead at the only tertiary care hospital. He also helped establish cardiac screening protocols for the Armed Forces of Malta, Malta Olympic Committee and the Malta Football Association. He is the lead cardiologist for these associations and is a member of their respective medical committees.
He also plays a very active role on an international level. He had been elected as a Sports Cardiology Nucleus member within the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) committee for Sports Cardiology and Exercise. He also plays an active role in various ESC subcommittees and is also an ESC advisor for Occupational Cardiology that encompasses the cardiac care of tactical athletes. As part of his various roles within the ESC, he is currently contributing towards various scientific documents and guidelines that tackle the management of athletes.
On an academic level, he has been invited to present at several local and international conferences and has a number of papers in peer reviewed international journals. He is the principal investigator for BEAT-IT, a national cardiac screening program in Maltese adolescents (athletes and non-athletes). He has been appointed as an expert reviewer on various ESC guidelines on behalf of the Maltese Cardiac Society. He is a deputy editor on the European Heart Journal of Case Reports and European Journal of Preventive Cardiology editorial board.
Dr. Flavio D’Ascensi
Flavio D’Ascenzi is an Associate Professor of Sports Cardiology at the University of Siena, where he also directs the School of Specialization in Sports Medicine and Physical Exercise and the Sports Cardiology and Rehab Unit. He earned his medical degree in 2008 and specialized in Cardiology in 2014 at the University of Siena. He later obtained a PhD in Medicine from Umeå University in Sweden.
His clinical and research work focuses on sports cardiology, particularly the prevention of sudden cardiac death, the study of cardiomyopathies and arrhythmias in athletes, and tailored exercise prescription for individuals with cardiac conditions. He has contributed to over 200 scientific publications and co-authored several international guidelines on managing cardiovascular conditions in athletes.
Flavio D’Ascenzi serves as the Secretary General of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology and holds leadership roles in the Italian Society of Sports Cardiology as Vice President. He is the past-Chair of the European Nucleus of Sports Cardiology and Exercise of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology. In addition to his academic roles, he was the team physician for Italy’s U18 women’s national volleyball team and the Emma Villas Siena men’s A2 series volleyball team.
Dr. Katja Azman Juvan
Katja Ažman Juvan, MD, PhD is a senior cardiology consultant at the Clinical Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at University Medical Centre Ljubljana, where she leads the group of cardiologists. She is board cerfified in Internal Medicine as well as in Cardiology and Vascular Medicine.
She is a long-standing member of the Slovenian Society of Cardiology, the former Head of its Working Group on Cardiovascular Imaging, and the co‑founder and Head of its Sports Cardiology Section. She has been a long-standing member of the Slovenian Society of Cardiology, former Head of its Working group for Cardiovascular Imaging (till 2024) and co-founder and Head of its Sports Cardiology Section.
Additionaly, she is a long-standing member of the Medical Board of the Slovenian Olympic Committee, where she seves as a consultant in Sports Cardiology and had also attended several Olympic Games as a Team Physician.
Her professional and research interests focus on cardiac imaging, valvular heart diseases, cardiomyopathies, and sports cardiology.
Dr. Aaron L. Baggish
Dr. Silvia Castelletti
Dr. Zlatko Fras
Zlatko Fras, MD, PhD, specialist in both Internal Medicine and Cardiology and Vascular Medicine, is Professor of Cardiology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, and Medical Director of the Division of Medicine at University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia.
He is President of the Slovenian Society of Cardiology and Chairman of the Enlarged Professional Collegium at the Ministry of Health.
His early research focused on the (patho)physiology of fibrinolysis and physical activity; while over the past three decades he has concentrated, nationally and internationally, on behavioural and biological risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. He chaired the Slovene National Programme on Primary CVD Prevention and served as National Coordinator for CVD prevention at the ESC. He has delivered many invited lectures on preventive cardiology at leading national and international meetings.
He is (co-)author of nearly 900 scientific works (listed at www.cobiss.si), including 170 PubMed-indexed publications (h10=63). With extensive publications, he is a key figure in Slovenia’s cardiology community, contributing to ESC initiatives and mentoring clinicians regionally.
He led the Working Group that created an original Slovenian methodology for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, one of the cornerstones of systematic quality management in healthcare.
He was heavily involved in postgraduate training and continuous professional development, both at the Medical Chamber of Slovenia (MCS) and internationally within the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), which he led as President from 2006 to 2012.
In 2016 he received the MCS’s highest professional distinction, the Hippocrates Award, and in 2024 Honorary Membership of the UEMS.
Dr. Viviana Maestrini
Viviana Maestrini is an Associate Professor of Cardiology at Sapienza University of Rome, where she completed her medical studies. She spent the final year of her residency at The Heart Hospital, University College London, where she subsequently undertook her PhD program, which was awarded by Sapienza University of Rome under joint supervision.
Since 2014, she has also served as a consultant cardiologist at the Institute of Sport Medicine and Science of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), where she leads the CMR program for athletes. In 2024, she was appointed as a representative of the Research Committee.
Her clinical and research work focuses on multimodality imaging in cardiovascular disease and sports cardiology, with particular emphasis on the prevention of sudden cardiac death and the early diagnosis of cardiomyopathies.
Viviana Maestrini currently serves as Chair of the Working Group of the Italian Society of Cardiology and is a member of the nucleus of the Sports Cardiology and Exercise Section of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC).
Dr. Aneil Malhotra
Professor Malhotra is a Consultant Cardiologist and expert in sports cardiology supporting people with heart conditions, ranging from those who are keen to start exercising to elite athletes. He is based at the Institute of Sport, Manchester Metropolitan University and Manchester University NHS Foundation hospitals. His programme of research is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), UK and he has >100 peer-reviewed publications.
He is the lead cardiologist for a number of elite sports teams in England and Scotland including Manchester City, Manchester United, Leeds United, Leicester City and Burnley football clubs, as well as British Cycling. Aneil is also regularly involved in the care of athletes for Team GB, English Institute of Sport, INEOS cycling and numerous professional football, cricket and rugby clubs. He is also the Cardiac Risk in the Young cardiologist for the north of England.
Professor Malhotra graduated from the University of Cambridge (Emmanuel College) and having spent time at MIT and Harvard University, he worked in Cambridge (UK) and Papworth before moving to Oxford for specialist training in cardiology. Along the way, he attained a Masters in Medical Leadership at the Royal College of Physicians (2013- distinction). He then completed his PhD in inherited heart diseases and sports cardiology at St. George’s University of London where he was appointed NIHR Clinical Lecturer, prior to his MRC Clinician Scientist award in Manchester.
Professor Malhotra’s research interests include predictors of sudden cardiac death in athletes and the effects of ethnicity and gender on cardiac adaptation, with data derived from analysing the Football Association’s cardiac screening programme.
Dr. Michael Papadakis
Michael Papadakis is a Professor of Cardiology at City St George’s, University of London, an Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a consultant cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic London. He is the past president of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology and served as a chair of the European section of Sports Cardiology and Exercise. He is consultant to the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young who screens more than 30,000 young individuals per year for heart disease and a consultant cardiologist to the English Institute of Sport, English and Wales Cricket Board and Rugby Football Union. His clinical and research interests include preventive cardiology, sports cardiology, inherited heart conditions and cardiac imaging. Prof Papadakis is currently credited with more than 150 publications in peer reviewed medical journals and numerous presentations in national and international conferences. He has contributed to international projects that have shaped education and clinical practice in preventive cardiology. He is the course director for an MSc degree in Sports Cardiology which he launched in 2016.
Dr. Antonio Pelliccia
ANTONIO PELLICCIA, M.D.
Current appointments
Senior consultant and Chief of Cardiology, Institute of Sports Medicine and Science, Italian National Olympic Committee.
Professor of Sports Cardiology, Post-Graduate School in Cardiovascular Disease and Sports Medicine. Rome, Italy.
Adjunct Professor in Sports Cardiology. Tufts University Medical School, Boston, MA.
Medical Education
Medical degree at University Medical School La Sapienza in Rome, 1975.
Specialization in Cardiovascular Disease, 1979 and Sport Medicine, 1983.
Visiting scientist at the Department of Cardiology, University of Padua, 1979.
Guest Investigator at the National Institute of Health, Cardiology Branch, Bethesda, Maryland, 1988 and 1989
Visiting scientist at University Hospital of the Georgetown University, Washington DC, 1992
Visiting scientist at New England Medical Center of the TUFTS University in Boston,1997
Area of Expertise
Preparticipation screening for cardiovascular disease at risk of sudden death in athletic populations.
Clinical management of athletes with cardiovascular diseases.
Criteria of differential diagnosis of athlete’s heart from structural cardiac disease (cardiomyopathies).
Exercise prescription and management of athletes with cardiac diseases.
Advising return to play in athletes with cardiac diseases.
Academic Appointments
Chief of Cardiology, Institute of Sport medicine and Science. Rome, Italy.
Founder and former chairman (2006-2008) of the Sports Cardiology Section of the European Society of Cardiology.
President, European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (2014-6).
IOC medical Commission scientific consultant
Lecturer, at Master Course of Sport Cardiology, Georgetown University Hospital, London and University of Padua.
Former President, Italia Society of Sport Cardiology.
Publications
Author of >320 papers published on peer-reviewed journals (including New England Journal of Medicine, Journal American Medical Association, Circulation, Journal American College of Cardiology, American Journal of Cardiology, European Heart Journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, International Journal of Sport Medicine).
Editor of the textbooks: The Athlete’s Heart: on the Border Between Physiology and Pathology. Cardiology Clinics. Saunders Publ. Philadelphia 2007; and The Athlete’s Heart Casebook. Springer Publ. 2009, The textbook of Sport Cardiology, Oxford University Publisher, 2019.
Reviewer
Reviewer of manuscripts concerning exercise, sport and cardiovascular diseases for the journals: New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of American Medical Association, Circulation, The Journal of American College of Cardiology, the American Journal of Cardiology, European Heart Journal, European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise; International Journal of Sport Medicine.
Scientific Journal
Editor-in-Chief, Journal Sport Medicine and Physical Fitness
Dr. Tinkara Ravnikar
Tinkara Ravnikar, MD has completed her postgraduate training in Internal medicine, as well as in Cardiology and vascular medicine (board certified specialist in both fields). She obtained a Master’s degree in Sports cardiology from the University of Padua, Italy.
She holds the position of cardiology senior consultant at the Department of cardiology at Izola General Hospital, one of the Slovene’s main regional hospitals.
Her professional and research interests focus on cardiac imaging, cardiomyopathies, cardiac rehabilitation and sports cardiology, with a particular interest on the cardiovascular evaluation of athletes.
She has been a long-standing member of the Slovenian Society of Cardiology, an active member of its Working group for Preventive Cardiology and core group member of its Sports cardiology section.
Currently, she is involved in several research and professional projects, some of which were already presented at the national and European meetings.
Dr. Alessandro Zorzi
Alessandro Zorzi, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor of Cardiology at the University of Padua and Consultant Cardiologist at the Rehabilitation Hospital of Motta di Livenza, Italy. His expertise focuses on cardiac arrhythmias, sports cardiology, and non-invasive risk stratification of sudden cardiac death, particularly in athletes and young individuals.
REGISTRATION AND FEES
Click here for Online Registration:
https://cankarjevdom.eventsair.com/2026-sports-cardiology/registration
Registration
Registration is required for all Symposium participants.
Registration Office:
Tel.: +386 1 2417 136, + 386 1 2417 125
e-mail: registration@cd-cc.si
How to Register
Please create the new user account and with your e-mail address and password continue the on-line procedure. Upon submitting the Registration Form, you will receive automatically generated summary to your e-mail address.
If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it via the forgotten password link at the log-in page. The new password will be sent to your e-mail account (please check also the spam folder).
Otherwise, you should create a new user account and follow the instructions provided.
| Early Registration fee Payment until February 28, 2026 |
Late Registration fee Payment after February 28, 2026 |
|
| Regular | 180 EUR | 240 EUR |
| Medical Chamber of Slovenia Members | 180 EUR | 180 EUR |
| Students* | free | free |
*Proof of status is required.
The registration fee includes:
- Participation in all lectures
- Coffee during the breaks
- Lunch
Payment
Payment in euros without any charges to the beneficiary should be made:
- By bank transfer:
Bank name: BANKA SLOVENIJE, Slovenska 35, Ljubljana
SWIFT: BSLJSI2X
IBAN: SI56 0110 0600 0022 527
Beneficiary: CANKARJEV DOM, Cultural and Congress Centre, Prešernova cesta 10, 1000 Ljubljana
Account number: SI56 0110 0600 0022 527
With notification: Sports Cardiology – First name and last name of the participant - By credit card (Visa, Mastercard)
For domestic participants, payment in euros should be made:
- Bančno nakazilo:
Št.računa: SI56 0110 0600 0022 527
Sklic na št.: 00-651500226 (pri elektronskem plačilu prek Klik NLB ali SKB uporabite sklic na št.: 00 10057) - S kreditno kartico (Visa, Mastercard)
Important
- Payments should clearly state the participant’s name.
- All payments should have the notification “Sports Cardiology”.
- For summary payment orders, please enclose a list of names.
- VAT (22%) is included in the registration fee.
Confirmation of registration
Your registration and all payments will be confirmed in writing upon receipt of your registration form and payment or proof of payment.
Cancellations and refunds
All cancellations of registration, which must include your full bank account details, should be sent in writing to the Conference Secretariat, Cankarjev dom, Cultural and Congress Centre. Cancellations received no later than April 10, 2026, will be refunded in full except for the administrative fee of 50 EUR. Refunds will be paid after the Symposium. Cancellation received after April 11, 2026, will not be refunded.
Attendance Certificate
A Certificate of Attendance will be issued to all registered participants by email.
PROGRAM DOGODKA / EVENT SCHEDULE
Program dogodka je na voljo v obliki .pdf datoteke na tej povezavi.
The event schedule is available as .pdf attachment here.
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