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Our mission

INOCA International came about as a result of unmet patient need. INOCA patients around the world were being under recognised, under diagnosed and under treated. INOCA patients were also under represented in trials and studies, all resulting in a poor quality of life for many patients.

INOCA International is a patient led initiative, comprising a small core Management Team, supported by a truly outstanding, world renowned, International Medical Advisory Board. Everyone involved at INOCA International works together to raise awareness and further understanding of INOCA conditions with a view also to improving outcomes and quality of life for patients. No one at INOCA International is paid and everyone involved very generously contributes their time, knowledge and expertise, completely free of charge.

Our Aims

One of our initial aims at INOCA International was to bring together patients and professionals from around the world, to attend a joint meeting on INOCA, where information, expertise and knowledge could all be shared in a mutually informative and beneficial way.   This was achieved in 2019  with the inaugural INOCA International Meeting of Minds held at The Dorchester in London. Presentations from the meeting were also live-streamed around the world.  

Another aim was to create an International website where patients and medical professionals could converge around one central hub to learn more about INOCA. This was also achieved in 2019 with the launch of the INOCA International website – the first ever patient led global website dedicated entirely to INOCA conditions.

Our Leadership

OUR MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD comprises experts in Cardiology, Researchers and Investigators from around the world and medical professionals with an in depth knowledge and understanding of INOCA. Our Board brings a truly exceptional level of knowledge, experience and expertise to INOCA International. The excellent working relationship we have with our Medical Advisory Board is a great testament to our shared ethos and to the very high level of trust, respect and mutual commitment we share in our determination to raise awareness of these often under-recognised and under-diagnosed conditions.

OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM comprises our Founder, 4 core team members, (each with a specific area of responsibility) and an Advisor to the Management Team. The 5 members of our Management Team include 3 INOCA patients and 2 non INOCA patients.

Together with Professor Kaski, who very kindly acts as Advisor to the INOCA International Management Team, these 5 people are the day to day powerhouse of INOCA International and each member gives very generously of both their time and their efforts to ensure that the INOCA ship continues to hold her steady course.

In addition to our core management team, we are also very fortunate to have a further number of very dedicated individuals who regularly make themselves available to INOCA International. We truly appreciate every one of these individuals and are extremely grateful for the incredible support we receive here at INOCA International.

Website, Social Media, Communication and Support

With the advent of COVID-19, far from sitting back and taking things easy, INOCA International seized the opportunity and turned our attention to re-developing and updating our website, and we were delighted to launch the second edition in 2020.

Keeping up to date with developments and progress in the medical world is very important. So too is ensuring that our website keeps pace too. So it is our great pleasure to be able to launch this, the third update of our INOCA International website in this the Anniversary month of the INOCA International Meeting of Minds.

We also took time in the COVID years to update our Twitter and Facebook Information pages and more recently have also joined the Instagram and TikTok platforms too in the hope of perhaps reaching audiences from other age groups and cultures and to raise awareness much earlier in the progression of INOCA conditions.

Realising the increased isolation of COVID, we took the decision to publish a quarterly newsletter so INOCA patients and medical professionals around the world could receive our INOCA International updates direct into their inbox. Last but certainly by no means least, we were delighted to recently launch our brand new Podcast Series where INOCA International speaks one to one with specially invited guests.

On the videos page, INOCA patients talk about their own journey and their own experiences. Listening to other patients and knowing that there are others out there who are going through similar things can sometimes be a huge reassurance, comfort and support.  There are many online support groups to choose from if you feel you would like to access an online group. The online support group that we offer a link to comes highly recommended by INOCA patients themselves as a very friendly, welcoming, non judgemental patient peer support group, which means that members understand the kinds of things you are going through because many of them have experienced the same or very similar things themselves and are often able to share suggestions and ideas from their own experiences which might just be of help to others on the journey.

Not everyone needs, wants, or benefits from a support group, so it is entirely up to you to decide for yourself which group is right for you as whilst we offer a link to the group below at the request and recommendation of INOCA patients themselves, we do not run the group or have any part in any decisions that are made relating to the group or its content.

Working in kind collaboration with Professor Martha Gulati and Professor C. Noel Bairey Merz, and in co-authorship with some of the leading minds in the Cardiology world, the International INOCA Patient survey on the impact of INOCA conditions on quality of life was published in the International Journal of Cardiology in September 2022. This survey showed, perhaps for the fist time in such a detailed way, the true impact of INOCA conditions on the quality of life of patients. You can view the full text of the International Journal of Cardiology publication on the link below. The publication is also free access so no payment and no registration is required to view the article.
Publication in the International journal of Cardiology of the International INOCA Patient survey on Quality of Life