An international academic forum bringing cardiologists and physicians together in Baku to explore the link between diabetes and heart disease, from the management of heart failure to cardio-renal protection with SGLT2 inhibitors.
10:00 – 12:10 · Baku time (UTC+4) · Baku Medical Plaza
People living with type 2 diabetes face a markedly higher risk of heart disease, heart failure and chronic kidney disease. These conditions share mechanisms, reinforce each other and, increasingly, share treatments.
DiaHeart Connect Forum brings cardiologists and physicians together at Baku Medical Plaza to look at this connection through a clinical lens: the modern medical management of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and how SGLT2 inhibitors evolved from glucose-lowering drugs into a cornerstone of cardio-renal protection.
The academic programme features an international faculty from Azerbaijan and Pakistan, with focused lectures followed by open discussion.
Three-day forum
10:00 – 12:10 · UTC+4
Baku, Azerbaijan · tap for map
International speakers
Two keynote lectures
Healthcare professionals
Deaths from cardiovascular disease worldwide in 2019, the leading cause of death globally.
Source · WHOAdults aged 20–79 living with diabetes, with over 250 million undiagnosed.
Source · IDF Diabetes Atlas 2025Adults with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease.
Diabetes & cardiovascular riskPeople estimated to be living with heart failure worldwide.
Source · GBD 2017The heart is a muscular pump with four chambers. The right side sends blood to the lungs to collect oxygen; the left side pumps oxygen-rich blood to the whole body. Each beat is triggered by an electrical signal from the heart's natural pacemaker.
Fatty plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries that feed the heart muscle (atherosclerosis), narrowing them and limiting blood flow. It can cause chest pain on exertion (angina) and is the most common cause of heart attacks.
A heart attack (myocardial infarction) happens when a coronary artery becomes suddenly blocked, usually by a blood clot on a ruptured plaque. Without blood flow, the heart muscle begins to die within minutes.
The heart cannot pump or fill well enough to meet the body's needs, causing breathlessness, fatigue and fluid retention. It is classified by ejection fraction (EF), the share of blood pumped out with each beat.
Persistently high blood glucose damages blood vessels and nerves, accelerates atherosclerosis and can directly affect heart muscle. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in people with type 2 diabetes.
Heart and kidneys depend on each other. A weak heart reduces kidney perfusion; failing kidneys cause fluid and salt overload that strains the heart. Diabetes damages both, creating the cardio-renal-metabolic cycle.
Hypertension forces the heart to work harder and stiffens arteries over time, raising the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease. It usually causes no symptoms, so regular checks matter.
The most common sustained heart rhythm disorder: the upper chambers beat chaotically, causing an irregular, often fast pulse. Blood can pool and clot, so AF markedly increases the risk of stroke.
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Symptoms can be sudden or build up over minutes. Women, older adults and people with diabetes may have milder or atypical symptoms.
Tightness, squeezing or heaviness in the centre of the chest.
Pain moving to the arm, jaw, neck or back.
Shortness of breath, with or without chest discomfort.
Sudden clammy, cold sweating.
Feeling sick, vomiting or indigestion-like discomfort.
Light-headedness or feeling faint.
Do not wait to see if symptoms pass, and do not drive yourself to hospital.
103Four drug classes, each proven to reduce death and hospitalisation in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, are recommended for every eligible patient.
Sacubitril/valsartan, or an ACE inhibitor
Blocks the renin–angiotensin system; ARNI also boosts protective natriuretic peptides.
Bisoprolol, carvedilol, metoprolol succinate
Slow the heart and shield it from the harmful effects of adrenaline.
Spironolactone, eplerenone
Block aldosterone, reducing fibrosis, salt and fluid retention.
Dapagliflozin, empagliflozin
Glucose and sodium leave in the urine, unloading the heart and kidneys.
All four carry a Class I recommendation in HFrEF (ESC 2021).
SGLT2 reabsorbs about 90% of the glucose the kidneys filter. Blocking it sends glucose and sodium out in the urine, and the benefits reach far beyond blood sugar.
Saturday 14 November 2026 · 10:00 – 12:10 (Baku time, UTC+4)
Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Karachi. Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology. MBBS, FCPS (Cardiology).
Hosts the session, delivers the welcome and closing remarks, and moderates the Q&A.
Opens the academic session with a recitation.
Azerbaijan's capital on the Caspian Sea, where the medieval Old City meets the modern skyline of the Flame Towers.
Sacubitril + Valsartan
Empagliflozin + Metformin HCl