American Heart Month is here, providing a dedicated opportunity to educate our communities, patients and the broader public about the impact of cardiovascular disease, and even more importantly how to prevent it!

This issue of Cardiology tackles one of the biggest contributors to cardiovascular risk and mortality – hypertension. Our cover story provides a closer look at the critical role collaborative, team-based care should play in providing comprehensive, patient-centered care that controls blood pressure and improves outcomes.

"How do we ensure all aspects of patient care are taken care of," asks Joseph E. Ebinger, MD, FACC, from Cedars- Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. "Leverage the team around us, and make sure we're allowing all individuals to contribute to helping our patients gain control of their BP."

Heart Month is also "an opportunity to take stock of disparities and redouble our efforts to provide more equitable care," according to Jessica Schultz, MD, and Bhavadharini Ramu, MD, FACC, who review how heart failure (HF) manifests differently in women than in men, and the impact on treatment.

Notably, the incidence of HF is increasing more in women than in men, but they are less likely to receive evidence-based HF therapies, and they experience delays in referral for and access to advanced HF therapies. We also explore the advances in the treatment of congenital heart disease in an article from Tarek Alsaied, MD, FACC, on behalf of the Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiology Member Section. As a reminder, Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week is Feb. 7-14 this year.

Wellness is also key to a healthy heart for everyone, including health care professionals. Joanna Joly, MD, and David Snipelisky, MD, FACC, remind us how to recognize clinician burnout along with strategies to prevent and tackle it. "Recognition and mitigation of burnout is key to allowing us the opportunity to practice in an environment that lets us take the best possible care of ourselves – and our patients," they write.

Also in this issue, we hear from Ricardo O. Escárcega, MD, FACC; Richard A. Chazal, MD, MACC; and Malissa J. Wood, MD, FACC, who suggest it's time to rethink the meaning of ischemic heart disease and discuss the invasive assessment of angina and nonobstructive coronary arteries (ANOCA), which they note is not a benign syndrome. They also review the continuing challenges with diagnosing and managing ANOCA.

Additionally, don't miss our regular JACC in a Flash feature and check out Pulse of ACC for important dates and reminders tied to the Collaborative Maintenance Pathway and ACC.24 in Atlanta.

Enjoy this issue! As always, please send your thoughts and feedback to CardiologyEditor@acc.org.

Happy Heart Month!

Clinical Topics: Congenital Heart Disease and Pediatric Cardiology, Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathies, Prevention, Congenital Heart Disease, CHD and Pediatrics and Prevention, Acute Heart Failure, Hypertension

Keywords: Cardiology Magazine, ACC Publications, Cardiovascular Diseases, Hypertension, Heart Failure, Myocardial Ischemia, Heart Defects, Congenital

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