This post was authored by John Gordon Harold, MD, MACC, past president of the ACC.

It is my privilege and honor to chair a session today on the critical topic of “Population & Global Health - Combating CV Diseases/Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Globally.” The session is part of the special Future of Cardiovascular Medicine Track, which is focused on what the world will look like in 2025 in the context of cardiovascular health. The first United Nations High-level Meeting on NCDs in 2011 led to the adoption of the UN Political Declaration which placed NCDs on the global health and development agenda. Member States committed to a set of actions to accelerate the NCD response. I had the privilege of attending the United Nations deliberations on NCDs in June 2014 and testifying before the General Assembly. Given the lofty global goal of the United Nations and World Health Organization to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by 25 percent by 2025, this session couldn’t be more pertinent. As Dr. Margaret Chan (Director-General of the World Health Organization) has been quoted “A world that is greatly out of balance in matters of health is neither stable nor secure.”

While cardiovascular disease was previously considered a burden of the developed world, the paradigm has truly shifted over the last many decades; and when considering the demographics of the emerging world, the epidemic on its current course will get much worse before it gets better. This year alone there will be an estimated 42 million deaths from NCDs, with 21 million of these deaths from cardiovascular disease. When considering premature death from NCDs, nearly 90 percent occur in low and middle income Countries. By 2030 the total global cost of cardiovascular disease is set to rise from approximately $863 billion in 2010 to a staggering $1,044 billion.

Today’s session will kick off with Harlan Krumholz, MD, SM, FACC, providing  a look at the actions necessary over the next five years if we are truly to build a global infrastructure to prevent and treat NCDs. Recent World Health Organization statistics show that only 35 percent of countries in the world have a national plan for combating NCDs. Also during the session, Alselm Hennis, MD, of the Pan American Health Organization, will provide a closer look at the burden of cardiovascular disease in Latin America and discuss pivotal projects underway in the realm of cardiovascular disease prevention, while WHF President Salim Yusuf, MD, FACC, will provide a more in-depth look at the 25 by 25 goal. ACC Assembly of International Governors Chair Daniel Pineiro, MD, FACC, from Buenos Aires will close the session with a reminder that “Past is Prologue” when it comes to NCDs. Indeed, if we don’t learn from our successes and failures we will never meet our goals.

Of course, the NCD discussion will not end with today’s session. The College has developed a new five-year population health strategy to help to coordinate efforts around NCDs. Building on key international partnerships – many of which are represented in tomorrow’s session – and leveraging our 34 ACC International Chapters and nearly 50,000 members around the globe, the ACC is committed to leading the fight to stem the tide of NCDs worldwide. Our hope is to be standing at a similar podium in 2025 sharing the proof of our collective success.

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