• Founder and Past Director of the advanced heart failure and transplantation program in Kuwait in both Chest Disease Hospital and Dabous Cardiac Center
• Reviewer for Journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)
• Gold member of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)
• Currently Cardiology consultant at Alsalam Hospital department of Cardiology and Al-Ahmadi New Hospital (Kuwait Oil Co.) - Heart failure clinic
• Consultant for the University of Chicago Medicine
• Earned a "Heart failure fellowship" from University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ontario Canada

• Fellow of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCPC)
• Fellow of The American College of Cardiology (F.A.C.C)
• Member of Kuwait Heart Foundation
• Member of Kuwait Medical Association

Prof. Playford is an academic and Clinical Cardiologist with sub-specialty expertise in echocardiography and Cardiac CT. As the founder and Principal of a subspecialty echocardiography service, Director of Cardiology at a large specialty cardiac centre, Professor and Head of Cardiology at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle Western Australia, and the Chief Medical Advisor of an ASX-listed echocardiography AI company, he has demonstrated consistent leadership. He is the co-founder, director and Chief Investigator of the National Echo Database of Australia (NEDA), the largest mortality-linked echocardiography database in the world. As a respected leader in cardiology in Australia, he has served on the National Cardiac Imaging Council executive for 10 years, the Board of the Pulmonary Hypertension Society of ANZ for 10 years, the vice president of the Western Australian chapter of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) and has served on numerous hospital Clinical Safety and Review committees, Medical Advisory Committees and Clinical Management Committees. He was the Convenor of the CSANZ Annual Scientific Meeting, Perth, in 2024.

• Certification Board of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (CBCCT) - 2021.
• Certification Board of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CBCMR) - 2020.
• National Board of Echocardiography (NBE) - 2020. ▪ Diploma of Emerging Leaders, Duke Emerging Leaders Institute, NC, USA - 2018.
• American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine - 2020.
• American Board of Internal Medicine - 2017.
• Doctor of Medicine (MD), Dnipropetrovsk State Medical Academy - 2005.

Clinical Professor Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

Director Pediatric and Adult Artificial Heart Program, University of Alberta Hospital, Stollery Children's Hospital, Mazankowski Heart Center Edmonton, Alberta

Dr Isma Rafiq is a Consultant Cardiologist in Adult congenital heart disease and for High-Risk Pregnancy Heart Disease service. She is also trained in cardiac MRI

Dr Isma Rafiq trained in cardiology at Royal Papworth hospital, Addenbrookes and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. Her Adult congenital heart disease and pregnancy training was based at prestigious centres in London.

Dr Rafiq is fully trained in general adult cardiology. Before joining Royal Brompton Hospital, she worked as a Consultant cardiologist and MRI at Leeds General infirmary from 2016-2017. She has also been a visiting consultant at Aarhus University Hospital Denmark. Currently she is a visiting consultant at Colchester hospital where she has set up a new outreach service to provide care near home.

Dr. Mousa Akbar is currently Consultant Cardiologist and Head of Cardiology unit, Al-Sabah hospital. He serves as a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at the Chest Disease Hospital.

Dr. Akbar graduated from the Medical School, Kuwait University – Kuwait in 1990 and has a Bachelor of Basic Medical Science and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery.

Between 1993 – 1997 he did his residency in internal medicine at University of Western Ontario, Canada and received the American Board of Internal Medicine ( ABIM) in 1996 as well as the Canadian Board of Internal Medicine in 1997.

He also received a fellowship of Royal College of Physician and Surgeon of Canada ( FRCPC) in 1997 and became a Member of American College of Physician ( MACP) as well.

He did his Cardiology residency at Ottawa Heart Institute- Ottawa, Canada from 1997 – 2000.

In 2000, he had the Canadian Board of Cardiology and in the same year 2000 he also had the American Board of Cardiology and received a fellowship of American College of Angiology (FACA). In 2003, he was awarded a fellowship of American College of Cardiology ( FACC)

In 2008, he was awarded a fellowship of European society of Cardiology (FESC). In 2009, he was awarded also a fellowship of American College of Physician ( FACP). He is a member of Kuwait Heart Foundation. Also he is a Vice president of Kuwait Cardiac Society(KCS).

He is a Board member in Gulf Heart Association (GHA).

In 2015, he was awarded a fellowship of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions(FSCAI).

He was a chairman of Cardiology Department in Chest disease hospitals(CDH).

He is a fellow of Gulf heart association(FGHA).

He is currently a vice president of Kuwait cardiac society and he is General secretary of Gulf interventional society(GIS). During his clinical career he has contributed to several Local and International Journal Publications.

Dr. Akbar has chaired and presented more than 100 local and regional lectures related to his field of Cardiology.

• Consultant Cardiology, Echocardiography and Internal Medicine
• Head of non-invasive investigation unit.
• Sh. Jaber Alsabah Armed Forces Hospital

Advance Heart Failure and cardiac transplant cardiologist running Heart Failure Clinic along with weekly Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension joint clinic with pulmonology team in Chest Disease Hospital. Conducting weekly diagnostic RHC for both PAH and HF patients. Kuwait University graduate and Internal medicine board certified from Kuwait. Completed my fellowship in Adult Cardiology at KSU-Riyadh. Advance HF and transplant fellowship from British Columbia-Canada.

Dr. AlSarraf graduated from the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain, in 1999. He got his postgraduate training in Medical Biochemistry at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, in Canada during the period of 2006-2011. Then he did fellowship in Lipidology at St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver BC Canada, and was awarded a certificate in Clinical Lipidology by the National Lipid Association in the United States. Ever since, he has been a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Medical Biochemistry. Dr. AlSarraf co-authored several publications in international journals, mainly in lipid disorders, and currently, he worked in Amiri hospital as a head unit of lipid clinic

Hani Sabbour is a consultant cardiologist at the Mediclinic Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. In addition to his clinical practice, he is also the Director of the internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship programs at the Al Ain Hospital, UAE.

Dr Sabbour specializes in cardiology and cardiac imaging, and has been at the forefront of complex cardiac care in the UAE. He has completed post-graduate training in various sub-specialties from the American Board of Internal Medicine, including Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology, Nuclear Cardiology, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology, Cardiovascular Disease, and Internal Medicine. He was a clinical and research fellow on clinical cardiac electrophysiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital – Harvard Medical School. He received his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery at the top of his class (Magna cum Laude) from the Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, before completing his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in cardiovascular disease and at The State University of New York Stony Brook – East Meadow Campus.

Dr Sabbour has made significant contributions to the advancement of cardiovascular care through his involvement as an investigator in numerous multicenter clinical trials. His clinical interests and expertise are in the management of arrhythmias and ablation of atrial fibrillation, chronic heart failure, pulmonary hypertension and adult congenital heart disease.