Contact: Katie Glenn, kglenn@acc.org, 202-375-6472

WASHINGTON (Oct 04, 2017) -

The American College of Cardiology is launching a cardiovascular disease education and awareness program in Japan to bolster national efforts to better identify and diagnose patients at risk of stroke and improve education around the treatment of atrial fibrillation.

The "train-the-trainer" program, jointly administered by the ACC and local cardiovascular societies in Japan, will teach cardiologists across the country how to educate primary care physicians on the risk factors and treatment strategies for atrial fibrillation, the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia. The program has the potential to reach thousands of primary care doctors across the country and support them in their efforts to improve care for their patients at risk of heart disease.

"The Japanese cardiology community has been one of the closest partners of the ACC over the years, and we are honored to collaborate with Japanese clinicians to promote more effective diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation," said ACC President Mary Norine Walsh, MD, FACC. "Through this program we'll be able to work together to better implement international treatment guidelines for at-risk patients and improve cardiovascular patient outcomes throughout Japan."

The train-the-trainer program will seek to train an elite group of 50-60 Japanese cardiologists from diverse areas of Japan on the latest developments in atrial fibrillation diagnosis and treatment. The ACC, along with prominent Japanese experts, will also help these clinicians design and teach a curriculum that is suitable for Japan’s primary care environment and will assist primary care physicians in how to effectively detect, treat, and manage atrial fibrillation in their patient populations.

"The Japanese College of Cardiology looks forward to working with our colleagues from the ACC to ensure our patients with atrial fibrillation continue to receive the best possible care," said Hiroyuki Daida, MD, FJCC, President of the Japanese College of Cardiology. "It is important that Japanese primary care clinicians continue to learn about new science, guidelines and best practices for diagnosing and treating patients with atrial fibrillation and this program is just one part of those efforts."

Japan has made significant strides in diagnosing and treating patients with atrial fibrillation. Nearly 800,000 Japanese patients are believed to have atrial fibrillation and that number is projected to rise to 1 million by 2020. As the Japanese population ages and the number of Japanese patients with atrial fibrillation concomitantly rises, it will be increasingly important for cardiologists in Japan and the United States to share best practices and experiences in preventing stroke and consistently implementing guideline-based care for patients with or at risk of atrial fibrillation.

The ACC has a successful record of designing and implementing atrial fibrillation train-the-trainer programs in the United States and around the world.

The "train-the-trainer" program is sponsored by the Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer alliance.

The American College of Cardiology is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College and its more than 52,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more, visit acc.org.

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