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How HCP deep social intelligence is vital on the road to ESC 2025

26.08.2025 | Insight

How HCP deep social intelligence is vital on the road to ESC 2025

By Bernard Groen and Jessica Fernandes

By Bernard Groen and Jessica Fernandes, CREATION.co Research Team

Introduction

Between January and mid-August 2025, healthcare professionals (HCPs) discussed many topics in more than 7,600 social media posts relating to the upcoming European Society of Cardiology Congress (ESC 2025). This wealth of digital conversation provides an early glimpse of the agenda being set by clinicians themselves, not just the official scientific programme, but the themes and questions HCPs see as most urgent for their practice.

Our analysis reveals four dominant themes emerging from this body of conversation. Together, they represent the contours of anticipation and concern shaping expectations for ESC 2025: 

  • Heart failure optimisation 
  • Antithrombotic simplification 
  • AI and large language models in cardiology 
  • Beta-blocker de-escalation after myocardial infarction

Each theme reflects not just scientific curiosity, but also a deeply practical orientation: clinicians want treatments that start earlier, require less intensity where possible, harness digital tools, and give clarity on who benefits most.

Heart failure optimisation: from evidence to workflow

Perhaps unsurprisingly, of all the individual topics of conversation, none was larger than heart failure (HF). 972 posts from 460 unique HCPs focused on how evidence will reshape initiation and maintenance of therapy. The spike in posts from late February 2025 coincided with the first detailed discussions around DAPA ACT HF-TIMI 68, a trial examining in-hospital initiation of SGLT2 inhibitors for acute heart failure.

Clinicians are not only discussing efficacy. They are debating particle clinical workflow. Posts highlight whether discharge protocols can realistically accommodate early initiation, how community teams will inherit patients already on advanced therapy, and how vericiguat might slot into simplified chronic pathways.

One of the most widely referenced voices was Ahmed Bennis, MD (@drbennisahmed), who outlined the rationale and design of the DAPA ACT HF-TIMI 68 trial. This post became a touchpoint for others amplifying the discussion. 

Adding to this, Alfonso Valle (@ValleAlfonso) highlighted the management of HF patients at high risk of in-hospital mortality, underscoring workflow complexity. Similarly, Pankaj Garg (@HEARTinMagnet) shared new imaging data on left ventricular filling pressure, connecting evidence with practical care implications.

This conversation indicates that the expectation for ESC 2025 is not just to prove drugs work; most HCPs assume they do, based on the evidence that is presented alongside these drugs, but to deliver clarity on when and how to start treatment using them. This points to a role not just in communicating outcomes, but in providing practical hospital-to-community toolkits: discharge checklists, monitoring protocols, and patient education resources that reduce the friction clinicians anticipate during their usual day-to-day work.

Antithrombotic simplification: searching for safety without compromise

The second strongest current, visible in 292 posts from 207 HCPs, reflects a push towards simplification in antithrombotic therapy. This theme began trending as early as mid-January 2025, well before any ESC spotlight, indicating an undercurrent of clinical focus and concern.

HCPs are weighing the perennial balance: how to minimise bleeding risk without inviting thrombotic complications. Conversations centre on anticipated trials, such as NEO-MINDSET, TAILORED-CHIP, TARGET-FIRST and DAPT-SHOCK-AMI as shared by Davide Capodanno. 

Yet what animated the discussion did not just seem to relate to trial acronyms, but the lived challenge of tailoring regimens: “who, when, how.” HCPs wonder whether aspirin can be safely withdrawn earlier, whether dual therapy remains necessary beyond the acute period, and how to apply these decisions in patients with atrial fibrillation or acute coronary syndromes.

Here too, Ahmed Bennis, MD pointed to the bleeding risk/efficacy balance in aspirin therapy. 

The tone is practical and urgent. These posts are not about debating abstract endpoints; they are about real patients in clinics every day. The point to note is: evidence communication must be paired with implementation support. Visual aids, algorithms, and bite-sized guides that show precisely when and for whom therapy intensity can be reduced will most likely resonate most strongly.

AI and large language models: curiosity tempered with caution

The third theme is less about drugs than about digital transformation and the growing cultural phenomena of GenAI and LLMs. 287 posts from 183 HCPs, trending strongly from the beginning of the year, focused specifically on AI and large language models (LLMs) and their application to the clinical area of cardiology. HCPs reference tools like ChatGPT alongside specialist machine learning systems, with use cases ranging from triage support and imaging interpretation to literature synthesis and decision guidance.

Clinicians expressed both optimism and caution. Edward Hulten highlighted the potential of LLMs to streamline day-to-day clinical documentation, while acknowledging that accuracy and oversight remain essential, in his podcast with Islam Shatla.

Adding another dimension, Ahmed Bennis shared reflections on how AI could support evidence synthesis in the run-up to ESC 2025, pointing to practical uses already being tested in cardiology workflows.

What is evident from these posts is a requirement for more clarity: how these systems will be validated and how responsibility will be shared between clinician and algorithm.

The implication seems twofold: companies must not only speak credibly about responsible integration of AI but also explain how digital intelligence complements, rather than replaces, evidence-based medicine and/or clinicians.

Beta-blockers after MI: a long-standing question returns

Finally, the conversation with perhaps the deepest historical roots: beta-blockers after myocardial infarction (MI). 222 posts from 163 HCPs engaged with the prospect of finally settling whether patients with preserved ejection fraction benefit from long-term beta-blockade. Discussion picked up pace in late February, in line with heightened anticipation for BETAMI, DANBLOCK, and REBOOT-CNIC.

For example, Borja Ibañez highlighted the potentially “practice-defining” nature of the Hot Line 3 session at ESC 2025, underscoring the weight of expectation. He and his team will be talking through the results of the REBOOT-CNIC trial. 

Marco Valgimigli added his perspective by pointing to the significance of these results for daily clinical practice, reinforcing how eagerly the cardiology community awaits clarity, whilst promoting the relevant ESC session of his team.

What unites these perspectives is the demand for clarity. Clinicians want an answer not just to “yes or no,” but to who still benefits from long-term beta-blockers and who can safely be recommended to reduce intake over time.

The implication of this seems nuanced but critical. If the evidence points to de-escalation for many, companies must be ready to help clinicians identify the exceptions of those patients who still benefit. Supporting resources that stratify post-MI populations, by patient demographic, could prove decisive in sustaining both clinician trust and patient safety.

Conclusion: a call to align with HCP priorities

Across the full landscape of 7,652 posts, four themes dominate. HCPs are asking for therapies that are earlier, simpler, digitally enabled, and clearly segmented by patient type. They are not waiting for ESC sessions to set their agenda; they are already sharing with peers what matters most in practice on a dynamic, and often daily, basis online.

This presents us with the opportunity to respond in kind:

  • Provide workflow-ready resources for heart failure initiation and follow-up.
  • Equip clinicians with clear, evidence-based algorithms for antithrombotic de-escalation.
  • Speak credibly about responsible AI integration, emphasising governance and patient safety.
  • Deliver segmentation tools that bring clarity to beta-blocker use after MI.

In doing so, companies will not only align with the questions clinicians are already asking, but also demonstrate leadership in supporting evidence translation into practice.

Find out more – get in touch

If you’d like to harness insights like these, from granular trial anticipation to emerging clinical themes, our platform CREATION Pinpoint™  offers end-to-end social intelligence capabilities specifically designed for pharmaceutical leaders. We transform HCP conversation into scalable, strategic intelligence, helping you:

  • Prioritise your content and channel activation before, during and after congresses like ESC 2025.
  • Rapidly deploy post-congress insights that convert HCP signals into behaviour-shaping assets.
  • Track how momentum shifts across themes and therapy areas with near-real-time dashboards and alerts.

To explore how this applies to your therapeutic area or upcoming congress planning, get in touch with us anytime. We’d be delighted to tailor a demo or overview that aligns with your business goals.

 

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Meet the Authors

Bernard Groen

Bernard has worked in the NHS for nearly 15 years, culminating in a national role as Head of Data Management at NHS England/HEE. Additionally, Bernard worked at Accenture as Consulting Manager leading several large projects across a variety of public sector organisations. Bernard holds a doctoral degree and is a visiting research fellow at Durham University, and an associate professorship at UNICAF University.

Bernard loves spending time outdoors with family hiking, or on a road bike - going fast!

Jessica Fernandes

After attaining a 1st class degree in Theology from Durham University, Jessica returned to Kent to join the graduate programme here at CREATION.co. She uses her research and analytical skills to inform health strategy and serve clients.

Outside of work, Jessica loves to travel and visit historical landmarks. She also enjoys mini-golf and going out for brunch with friends and family.

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