New ACC/AHA Prevention Guidelines Serve as a Bridge to a Unique Collaboration With NHLBI

Nov 12, 2013

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The ACC and the American Heart Association (AHA), in collaboration with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and other specialty societies, released four long-awaited prevention guidelines today focused on the assessment of cardiovascular risk, lifestyle modifications to reduce cardiovascular risk and management of elevated blood cholesterol and body weight in adults.

These four prevention guidelines were initially commissioned by NHLBI starting in 2008 and transitioned to the ACC and AHA in June 2013 as part of a collaborative arrangement to facilitate their completion and publication. (You can read more about the process in an essay published June 19, where NHLBI announced its intent to refocus its clinical practice guideline development process, and adopt a new collaborative, partnership model in response to “profound changes” in the health care landscape.)

The joint ACC/AHA Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the “Subcommittee on Prevention Guidelines” should be commended for taking on the Herculean task of shepherding this transition, communicating the rationale and expectations to the Expert Panels and partnering organizations, and finalizing the guideline documents expeditiously. Because of these efforts, we have laid the groundwork for even stronger guidelines on these issues moving into the future. Even more importantly, we have created important recommendations that will only serve to benefit patients, providers and the broader public health as we continue to take on the nation’s #1 killer – cardiovascular disease.

Watch a video from Roger Blumenthal, MD, FACC and Neil Stone, MD, FACC, on the new blood cholesterol guidelines:

[youtuber youtube='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWpCXsqJ7gY']


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