When more than 30,000 cardiologists and industry arrive in Madrid for the European Society of Cardiology Congress, the scale alone is inspiring. This year at ESC 2025, the buzz was everywhere: in the packed lecture halls, across the exhibition floor, and in the conversations spilling out into the city.
His Majesty King Felipe VI put it perfectly during his visit when he said:
“Knowledge, when it contributes to progress,
should encounter no borders.”
That vision came alive not only in Madrid, but across the world, as healthcare professionals shared science in real time through social media. Because, while tens of thousands gathered in person, a parallel congress unfolded online. Cardiologists and other healthcare professionals amplified trial data, discussed new guidelines, and debated the future of cardiovascular health.
Within that wider conversation around ESC, there is a lot to learn by distilling the voice of the HCP from the other groups. There is real insight to be gained when you analyse what HCPs are talking about and look at who emerges as the most trusted voices within the HCP community.
For example, more than 150 posts by HCPs shared links to a journal article about the AQUATIC trial from the New England Journal of Medicine, helping colleagues everywhere engage with findings.
DAPA ACT HF-TIMI 68: Dapagliflozin in Patients Hospitalized for Acute Heart Failure#LBCT #ESCCongress #WCCongress 2025
🫀1:1 RCT of Dapa 🆚 Placebo
🫀34% female, 19% Black
🫀SGLT2i is safe in acute hospitalization but no significant difference in primary outcome of… pic.twitter.com/PqB6DMKVv3— Dr. Martha Gulati ♥️🫀❤️🩹🇨🇦 (@DrMarthaGulati) August 30, 2025
Additionally, Dr Martha Gulati’s summary of the DAPA ACT HF-TIMI 68 trial was shared by more than 50 peers reaching over 10,000 impressions. For many who could not attend, these peer-led updates were their window into ESC.
Online engagement surged during key late-breaking trial sessions at ESC 2025, showing how HCP conversations peak in real time as new data is presented.
Our analysis shows just how dynamic these conversations were, with clear spikes around trial sessions. These peaks illustrate how the congress conversation is shaped in real time and why distilling the voice of the HCP, and analysing their online conversations closely online, is essential for anyone wanting to understand the impact of new science.
What is clear is how important HCP peer trust is; not every voice travels equally far. The CREATION.co team was tracking the online conversations throughout ESC, and in our review of the 4 days, we saw three HCPs clearly rank highest for peer trust when looking at how other HCPs interacted with their posts: Martha Gulati, Novi Yanti Sari and Purvi Parwani.
When cardiologists like Henry Han post, their peers listen.
2025 ESC Guidelines for the management of #myocarditis and #pericarditis#ESCCongress #HeartFailure #HFA_ESC @escardio @slumberbell @DrMarthaGulati @rafavidalperez @Hragy @JavedButler1 @mmamas1973 pic.twitter.com/JykemhJfnj
— Henry Han (@HanCardiomd) August 29, 2025
Dr Han’s reflections on the new ESC heart failure guidelines were shared by 40 HCPs, and had over 9,000 impressions. In our DOL Finder tool, CREATION.co ranks Dr Han as one of the most trusted voices within the heart failure conversations globally.
The heart of any medical congress is the science and trial data that gets shared and actively discussed by HCPs, both at the congress and online all over the world. Even by the end of Saturday (day 2 of the congress), we were seeing a growing conversation around some key clinical trials, with the VICTOR trial clearly standing out as the most discussed.
For pharma and other industry bodies, there’s a powerful lesson here. Medical congress meetings are no longer confined to four walls in one city. The scientific dialogue now stretches across borders in real time, powered by trusted HCP voices online. By listening deeply to these HCP conversations, you can:
- Cut through the noise to identify who really shapes peer-to-peer dialogue.
- Understand which themes matter to professionals who care about the science.
- Design engagement strategies that support the conversations HCPs are already. having, and engage with empathy.
At CREATION.co we were privileged to be part of this at ESC, not only tracking the online conversations, but having a team there in person and launching HCPeers, our new app designed exclusively for healthcare professionals to track and grow their online impact.
ESC Madrid 2025 (#ESCCongress) was a reminder of just how much progress happens when knowledge crosses borders. Pharmaceutical and medical devices comapnies have a unique opportunity to learn from the trusted voices leading these conversations, and to support them in ways that ultimately improve care for patients everywhere. At CREATION.co, we’ll keep listening closely because in a borderless, digital-first world, understanding peer trust is the key to truly meaningful engagement.
Learn how our HCP congress conversation tracking services can help you.
CREATION.co putting our HCP social media intelligence in your hands with our brand-new tool, DOL Finder for Heart Failure. To register sign up here.
