The American Society for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC) is extremely proud to have introduced the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology (AJPC) one year ago. Through the vison and persistence of Dr. Sergio Fazio the AJPC became the first journal in the United States committed to advancing the clinical and scientific interests of preventive cardiology. In just its first year the journal has seen enormous progress and success. Serving as the journal's first editor in chief, Dr. Fazio brought to life a new forum for preventive cardiologists to interact and share their clinical and scientific insights. Ever the mover and shaker, Dr. Fazio has stepped down as editor in chief to pursue his scientific interests with Regeneron. Dr. Fazio's accomplishments in atherosclerosis research and preventive cardiology have influenced our specialty with broad range. We will miss his leadership but wish him Godpseed in his new endeavors! We know he will continue to contribute to preventive cardiology in big ways.
I am delighted to report that Dr. Erin Michos will join Dr. Nathan Wong as co-editor in chief of the AJPC. Erin and Nathan will make for an extraordinary team and they will continue to grow the journal and introduce additional features. For those of us who have had the privilege of working with Dr. Michos, it is clear that she is an exceptional educator, mentor, clinician, and scientist. The ASPC is proud to note that she will be only the third woman in the US to be an editor in chief for a journal that addresses cardiovascular disease (CVD). She is the Director of Women's Cardiovascular Health and Associate Director of Preventive Cardiology at the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She has authored and coauthored over 400 papers and is a member of multiple national councils and committees with the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association. We know she will be a fair and objective editor. She will help contributors craft better presentations of their data. Her extraordinary energy and passionate love for cardiovascular disease prevention will help propel the journal into a place of preeminence and global reach. We have tremendous confidence that the collaboration between Drs. Michos and Wong will be highly synergistic, productive, and successful.
Working Groups
I am delighted to inform members of the ASPC that five new working groups have been formed. Each one has a distinct mission and niche to fill. If you are interested in becoming a part of one of these working groups, please contact Stacy Manthos at smanthos@aspconline.org and she will help connect you with the leader of the respective working group you are interested in. Your energy, willingness to work, and creative input will be valued.
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1.
Women in Preventive Cardiology
Mission Statement: To support and mentor women in preventive cardiology and to advocate for women's cardiovascular health by promoting optimal treatment and transdisciplinary research to improve women's cardiovascular outcomes.
Co-chairs: Drs. Heather Johnson and Sherry-Ann Brown.
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2.
Disparities in Preventive Cardiology
Mission Statement: The goal of the ASPC Disparities in CVD Prevention work group is to improve cardiovascular health equity. We hope to collaboratively advance research that promotes cardiovascular health and reduces the disproportionate burden of preventable CVD risk factors and CVD in structurally disadvantaged populations.
Chair: Dr. Bradley Deere.
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3.
Fellows in Training/Early Career Physicians
Mission Statement: To foster support, mentorship, and camaraderie among trainees and early career physicians passionate about the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Co-Chairs: Drs. Anandita Kulkarni and Charles German.
I am also pleased to report that the fellows in training/early career physicians group will now select one of its members for a one year term on the ASPC board of directors. We believe this will help to foster leadership skills and long-term interest in the ASPC. The verve and vigor of this group is enough to knock you over! If any ASPC members are willing to serve as mentors for members of this group, kindly let us know. Advancing the interest of fellows and early career physicians is the life blood of any organization. We welcome more fellows and young physicians to join our organization.
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4.
Genetic Testing & Dyslipidemia
Mission: Network/team of experts whose aim/focus is to engage our communities and health care providers alike with resources and educational programs for the diagnosis, management, and treatment of dyslipidemia.
Chair: Dr. Robert Superko
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5.
Nutrition
Mission Statement: To advance and promote a healthy diet to improve cardiovascular health.
Chairs: Drs. Danielle Belardo and Martha Gulati
If you are passionate about preventive cardiology and feel there are other niches/special interest areas to fill, let us know. You must know, however, that working groups will be just that: they will work to advance preventive cardiology and advance the most important interests of the ASPC and its members.
Experts Course in Preventive Cardiology
The ASPC Experts Course in Preventive cardiology was attended by 114 health care professionals. We intend to grow the course aggressively. Year to year we will ensure that the course is continuously updated and we will vary the lectures so as to keep it cutting edge, interesting, and clinically relevant to everyday clinical practice. The next Experts Course will be held live in September. Details will be forthcoming.
Annual Meeting
The ASPC Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions will be a cornucopia of new, clinically relevant lectures that span the range of clinical activity encompassed by preventive cardiology. It is with much pleasure and pride that I announce the awardees for distinguished lectures at the conference to be held in July.
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Leader in Medicine Award. Dr. Suzanne Oparil. Dr. Oparil is a cardiologist and a Distinguished Professor Medicine at the University of Alabama in Birmingham best known for her work in hypertension and vascular biology. I had the good fortune of being in a car with her en route to the airport in Los Angeles. The ride changed the trajectory of my career. She asked me what I did. I told her I was a country doctor in a small town of 4,000 people in southern Illinois. She suggested that I reroute my career and pursue academics because I was missing out on a lot. She was right, and I did.
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Keynote Lecture Award. Dr. Roger Blumenthal. Dr. Blumenthal is a cardiologist, Kenneth J. Pollin Professor of Cardiology, and Director of the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Always positive and always with a ready smile, he has exerted enormous influence over preventive cardiology through his clinical teaching and research as well as the many residents and fellows he has mentored through his distinguished career.
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Joseph Stokes Award. Dr. Nathan Wong. The Stokes Award is bestowed on individuals who have demonstrated a lifetime achievement in preventive cardiology. Dr. Wong is a cardiovascular epidemiologist, a professor in the cardiology division and director of the Heart Disease Prevention Program at the University of Calfornia, Irvine. Nathan's work spans the gamut of preventive cardiology and he has helped train and inspire many in the field. He is a former president of the ASPC and co-editor in chief of the AJPC.
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Nannette Wenger Award. Dr. JoAnne Manson. Dr. Manson is the Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women's Health, Harvard Medical School. She has greatly advanced our understanding of CVD in women through such studies as the Women's Health Initiative, Women's Antioxidant and Folic Acid Cardiovascular Trial, Biochemical and Genetic Risk Factors for CVD in Women, and the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial. She has been a trailblazer in the true spirit of Dr. Wenger.
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Honorary Fellow Award. Dr. Clyde Yancy. The ASPC annually identifies one individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the field of preventive cardiology through groundbreaking research, exemplary clinical care, and/or excellence in education. The ASPC recognizes this individual for his/her extensive contributions with the designation Honorary Fellow of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology. Dr. Yancy is Vice Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Chief of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine, and Magerstadt Professor at Northwestern University. His clinical and research activity has focused on heart failure.
These lectures will all be exceptional, inspiring, and deeply insightful. We look forward to welcoming you to Louisville, Kentucky, this July!
Ten Things to Know About Ten Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors
I want to draw special attention to a remarkable manuscript in this quarter's issue of the AJPC. It is entitled, “Ten Things to Know About Ten Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors.” This paper summarizes ten things to know about ten sentinel CVD risk factors. Each of the authors was asked to mentor a resident or fellow in training in helping to prepare each of the ten sections. It was a great learning experience for all, and it is a wonderful summary of many of the most important advances in preventive cardiology during the last year. The ASPC extends particular gratitude to Dr. Harold Bays for leading this initiative. This type of manuscript will be updated annually, and I am sure it will be eagerly awaited by all for providing a thorough review of the year's most important advances in ten sentinel cardiovascular risk factors.
ASPC Bookshelf
The ASPC Manual of Preventive Cardiology (Wong ND, Amsterdam EA, and Toth PP, eds; Springer 2021) has published and is available to all members of the ASPC at a substantial discount. If you are a primary care provider, the book Comprehensive Cardiovascular Medicine in the Primary Care Setting (Toth, PP and Cannon, CP, eds; Springer 2020) may be of interest to you. This volume is comprised of 35 chapters and provides a host of algorithms, case studies, and state of the art, evidence-based management approaches to all of the most important cardiovascular diseases encountered by primary care providers.
Educational Programs
Meeting the educational needs of our members is of tantamount importance. During the next year we will be rolling out educational programs which address familial hypercholesterolemia education, issues surrounding aggressive low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction, heart failure, lipoprotein(a) and apheresis, peripheral arterial disease, and complex patient perspectives and diagnoses. Stay tuned and, most of all, get involved and stay involved!