New Community on the Block

The ACC recently launched its newest online clinical community focused on cardiometabolic disease. The Cardiometabolic Disease Clinical Community is designed to help educate clinicians on important connections between diabetes and other cardiometabolic conditions such as hypertension, dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease. Led by Nathan Wong, PhD, FACC, and Michael Blaha, MD, MPH, the community highlights new strategies aimed to screen for these problems, detect those at highest risk to prioritize treatment, and identify new and emerging therapies that have the potential for significant clinical benefit. Additionally, the community will help educate and empower clinicians with the information and tools they need to help reach the global target of reducing premature non-communicable disease mortality 25 percent by 2025. Learn more at Cardiometabolic.CardioSource.org.

A Look at Cardiovascular Disease Around the Globe

The ACC celebrated World Heart Day this past September by joining with the World Heart Federation (WHF) and other organizations to focus on “a life-course approach to the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease with a focus on women and children.” According to WHF, “healthy children lead to healthy adults and healthy adults lead to healthy families and communities.” Continue to spread the message with ACC’s World Heart Day resources at CardioSource.org/WorldHeartDay2013.

Making Living With AFib Easier

CardioSmart has been hitting the road over the last several months as part of a program with Mended Hearts to provide free, live educational programs for patients living with atrial fibrillation (AFib) and their caregivers at several hospitals across the country. This unique and highly successful “Living with AFib” lunch and learn program allows AFib patients and their friends and family to hear from ACC physicians and other AFib patients about signs and symptoms, treatment options and how to communicate effectively with the entire cardiac care team in an informal, relaxed setting. Participants can ask questions after the presentation and come away with not only increased awareness of AFib, but resources they can use moving forward, including more information about the AFib condition center on CardioSmart.org.

Another Milestone Reached in ACHD Education

In a game-changing decision for the field of adult congenital cardiology, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has approved the College’s application for Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) Training Program Accreditation.

According to Michael Landzberg, MD, FACC, and Curtis Daniels, MD, FACC, co-chairs of the ACC’s Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiology’s Section on ACHD Subspecialty Training working group, “this is an incredible hurdle we have cleared and another milestone in the ACC’s ACHD training and education efforts that will ultimately lead to improved care.”

The announcement comes a little more than a year after the American Board of Medical Specialties cleared another hurdle and approved establishing a new sub specialty certification in ACHD.

“Now that the program accreditation is approved, the next steps will involve developing the infrastructure and substance for education, training in and acquiring of competencies, optimal assessment strategies, and regulatory oversight for our new field of ACHD care,” said Landzberg and Daniels.

For more on the College’s ACHD efforts visit CardioSource.org/ACPC.

New in Clinical Documents: A New Guideline Collaboration

At the invitation of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the ACC and the American Heart Association (AHA) have officially assumed the joint governance, management and public distribution of several clinical practice guidelines focused on cardiovascular prevention. The first four guidelines addressing hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular risk assessment, cardiovascular lifestyle interventions and obesity were released on Nov. 12. These initial guidelines reflect tireless work by dedicated writing panels over the last five years. Now that they have been released, the ACC and AHA will be working closely together to update the guidelines beginning in 2014 to reflect the newest science. Visit CardioSource.org/Prevention for the details.

In Memoriam

Brian J. Maurer MB, BCh, FACC

ACC member Brian J. Maurer, MB, BCh, FACC, passed away on Oct. 13. Maurer has been called “an icon of cardiology in Ireland.” He was a consultant cardiologist and director of cardiology at St. Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin. He was also a past member of council and executive member of the Irish Medical Association, and a former secretary and president of the Irish Cardiac Society. He is a former president and medical director of the Irish Heart Foundation. He was also instrumental in helping to organize the Great Britain and Ireland ACC Chapter. “Without Dr. Maurer’s ambition and vision for the Chapter, our relationship might not be what it is today,” said ACC President John Gordon Harold, MD, MACC. “The passing of Dr. Maurer means Ireland and the field of cardiology has lost a true icon and friend.”