I recently highlighted in a JACC President’s Page, with Dipti Itchhaporia, MD, FACC, and Huon Gray, MD, FACC, the College’s international outreach and the global impact of cardiovascular disease. As we approach the one year anniversary of the historic United Nations (UN) Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases, you’ll hear in the coming weeks about an update on bold targets to reduce morbidity and mortality from NCDs as well as the College’s continuing efforts on a global scale. Along these lines, I just attended the China Heart Congress 2012 in Beijing, chaired by Dr. Shengshou Hu, where I spoke on the “Global Burden of Cardiovascular Disease” with its challenges and opportunities. The meeting with a theme of “Healthy Heart, Better Life,” was very successful, with more than 7,000 attendees. Around the same time, ACC President-Elect, Dr. John Harold, was at the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand scientific meeting in Brisbane, with more than 2,000 attendees, inaugurating our Chapter with CSANZ President James Cameron, MD, and participating in a joint ACC-CSANZ joint symposium.

On the international front, the College has some exciting news. As a part of the ACC's ongoing efforts to better involve our international members in the activities of the College, we’ve recently added a new leadership structure for the Assembly of International Governors (AIG). A new Leadership Team sits at the helm of the Assembly and its Steering Committee, with newly appointed Chair-Elect Christoph Bode, MD, and Vice-Chair Daniel Pineiro, MD, joining Chair Huon Gray, MD, who has provided us with six years of phenomenal leadership. At ACC.13 Dr. Bode will become the new Chair with Dr. Pineiro becoming the Chair-Elect.  Additionally, the AIG Steering Committee, which includes representatives from the Americas (Dr. Erick Alexanderson), Asia (Dr. Sim Kui Hian), Europe (Dr. Nick Boon) and the Middle East/Africa (Dr. Hani Najm), has been created to advise the College on its ongoing international efforts. These changes are intended to facilitate more substantial feedback from ACC members and allow for pathways into leadership for more international members of the College.

As I write this blog, the ACC Presidential Team is gearing up for the European Society of Cardiology's Annual Congress, in Munich, Germany, which is sure to be an exciting meeting. We’re participating in two joint sessions:

• "What is the role of surgical mitral valve repair in 2012?" on Monday at 2 p.m.
• "Imaging in the Decision Making of Chronic Coronary Artery Disease" on Tuesday at 11 a.m.

If you’ll be attending the meeting in Munich, be sure to stop by the ACC’s booth on the expo floor (B2-C400) during the meet-and-greet from 12 to 2 p.m. on Sunday to meet ACC leaders. I would love to see you there. At the booth, you can receive a promo code for a 25 percent discount on registration for ACC.13 in San Francisco. If you become a fan of the ACC on Facebook you can also enter the chance to win free registration at ACC.13 using a “whisper code” at the booth.

Don’t miss my real-time Twitter updates from Munich at @WilliamZoghbi as well as updates from the ACC’s Twitter account @ACCinTouch. Also be sure to check out CardioSource.org for coverage from the latest science coming out from the meeting.

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