Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for 71% of deaths worldwide, primarily in low- to middle-income countries. Of these deaths, most are attributed to cardiovascular disease and most are preventable.

This year's Global Week For Action on NCDs, which took place from Sept. 7-13, aimed to highlight the ongoing global health challenges associated with NCDs, particularly in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, as well as urge accountability in terms of governance, politics and programs worldwide.

As part of the Global Week For Action, ACC joined with the NCD Alliance, World Heart Federation (WHF), American Heart Association and other health care societies, industry and NGO stakeholders to help drive awareness and accountability around NCDs.

"With data from the World Health Organization and others showing that people with NCDs are more vulnerable to COVID-19 and have a greater risk of becoming severely ill or dying from the virus, an increase in efforts to address NCD and disparities is now more important than ever," says ACC President Athena Poppas, MD, FACC.

According to Poppas, the ACC has been working with national and global health stakeholders to reduce the prevalence of NCDs and minimize the economic and social impacts they cause since the United Nations first issued its Political Declaration on NCD Prevention and Control NCDs in 2011.

"Tangibly addressing NCDs is necessary if we hope to achieve the College's mission of transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health," she says.

"However, this work must be done in tandem with effective partnerships and in collaboration with stakeholders around the world."

The NCD Academy is one of the College's most recent collaborations to stem the tide of NCDs. The free, online resource is a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the NCD Alliance, WHF and industry designed to equip frontline primary care workers with integrated, mobile-first education on NCD care as they take on a more prominent role in prevention.

Additionally, the ACC's 42 International Chapters representing more than 15,000 members through formalized partnerships in more than 80 countries are engaged in on-the-ground programs aimed at providing targeted education and the latest clinical guidance to clinicians and patients around the world.

The ACC's Assembly of International Governors also continues to spearhead several initiatives ranging from implementation of NCDR registries in hospitals to the Global Heart Attack Treatment Initiative, which customizes the lessons learned from the drastic decrease in morbidity and mortality from myocardial infarction in the U.S. over the past 25 years for implementation in low- and middle-income countries.

Clinical Topics: COVID-19 Hub

Keywords: ACC Publications, Cardiology Magazine, COVID-19, Prevalence, Pandemics, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, Social Change, Developing Countries, Cardiovascular Diseases, American Heart Association, World Health Organization, Politics, Registries, Myocardial Infarction, Morbidity, Global Health

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