This post was authored by William Zoghbi, MD, MACC, immediate past president of the ACC.

Over the last few years, and especially last year during my tenure as ACC president, I had the opportunity to become greatly involved in the United Nations (UN) Summit on Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). The ACC has partnered with the World Heart Federation, the European Society of Cardiology and the American Heart Association through the NCD Alliance to collectively advocate to the World Health Organization for inclusion of essential cardiovascular prevention and treatment targets after the first UN Summit on NCDs commenced in September 2011. All of the proposed targets were approved in late 2012 and a Global Action Plan that reflects these targets will be finalized at the World Health Assembly meeting in May 2013 in Geneva. 

Recently I was reminded of how much our actions, even few words, affect others. I was contacted by Carlo Dall'Olmo, MD, a vascular surgeon in Michigan who is originally from the Republic of San Marino (an enclaved microstate surrounded by Italy), who was inspired by a statement I made regarding the lack of public awareness of NCDs and related issues. Dall’Olmo agreed this lack of awareness is an important component of the overall problem, as it is something that he and his colleagues experience every day.

In an effort to increase public awareness about cardiovascular diseases, and unbeknown to me, Dall’Olmo approached Marino Manuzzi, MD, the director of the Filatelic Agency in the Republic of San Marino, and suggested that his agency take a lead role in public education by creating a stamp with a simple story line that would be dispersed throughout the world. Thus, the “cardiovascular diseases” stamp will be released on April 3 by the Republic of San Marino. It is their hope that the stamp will help to raise public awareness about cardiovascular disease in the campaign to combat NCDs. 

This is truly amazing and inspiring. I applaud Dall’Olmo on his resolve and Manuzzi on his appreciation of the weight of this issue. Public education actions like these are helping us achieve the overarching goal of a 25 percent reduction in preventable morbidity and mortality by 2025. With every step we take, we make our way closer to the goal. The ACC stands strongly behind this vision and will continue to advocate for the importance of achieving this important target.

This post was authored by Ralph G. Brindis, MD, MPH, MACC, past president of the ACC.

One of the most exciting aspects of the College’s Annual Scientific Sessions each year are the connections we make and the things we can learn from virtually every corner of the cardiovascular world. Today’s half-day long session on “Conquering Health Care Challenges in the Emerging World” embodied both of these – with fascinating co-chairs, speakers and panelists presenting case studies from a number of countries including Brazil, India, China and Mexico.

I traveled extensively to many of the countries in this “emerging” category, particular in my year as ACC President in 2010 and 2011. They are innovative and growing regions, but face challenges and barriers to care that include socio-economic and geographic disparities in care, an aging and growing population, and in many cases, an unruly cardiovascular disease epidemic that includes childhood obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Many of these nations have pinpointed ways they plan conquer these challenges – including China who voiced the need for evidence-based guidelines in more rural areas and increased cooperation of government, societies, academic and health workers. Brazil has called for the use of registries to document real-world practice and sees the need for effective public education campaigns. Meanwhile, many look to the poly pill as a solution to manage cholesterol and blood pressure – two important factors in preventing heart disease.

The challenges these countries face are answered in part by the collaboration and innovation that comes out of ACC membership and there is a steadily growing ACC international representation. The numbers are impressive and exciting. Going from just 4,000 members in 2009 to more than 6,400 individuals from 128 countries today, the ACC’s international area has seen a 20 percent growth for each of the past two years. The “emerging world” is a particular growth area with enhanced engagement in the last few years in countries like China, Brazil and Mexico.

The College’s International Chapters and partnerships with key local societies are critical to the collaborative effort to save lives. With strong partners and a steadfast commitment to the highest quality cardiovascular education, the ACC is poised continuously expand its efforts with the goal of reversing the pandemic of cardiovascular disease worldwide.

This post was authored by Huon H. Gray, MD, FACC, Chair of the ACC’s Assembly of International Governors.

As a longtime member of the ACC, I have had the pleasure of seeing even greater attention directed towards producing internationally relevant content within the ACC’s Annual Scientific Session. Offerings at ACC.13 are the most diverse ever and I would like to briefly highlight these and hopefully encourage as many members as possible to attend and enjoy the great opportunities that exist to meet up with friends and colleagues.

In addition to the ever popular “Cardiovascular Conference on the Middle East”, which will be held on Sunday, March 10, there will also be a new half-day international session chaired by ACC Past President Ralph Brindis, MD, MPH, MACC, called “Conquering Healthcare Challenges in the Emerging World.” This will be held on Saturday, March 9 and will feature experts from Brazil, China, Mexico and India discussing common difficulties encountered in cardiovascular care around the world. This should be a great session, partly because of the topics covered but also because of the assembly of such a distinguished faculty. International attendees are invited to a special reception from 6:00 – 7:45 p.m. at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis – Nob Hill following this session, where you will have the chance to network with cardiovascular experts and the ACC’s Presidential Team. 

The Joint International Lunchtime Symposia will take place on Monday, with 18 joint sessions running in parallel and 22 international cardiovascular societies participating. These symposia have become an international highlight of the ACC program over recent years, and reflect the close collaboration that exists between the College and its international sister societies. With such a variety of regions and topics represented, I am confident that you will find a symposium to meet your tastes, whether you work outside or within the U.S.

In addition, on Monday, March 11, the Maseri-Florio international lecture will be given by Alain Cribier, MD, FACC, on the subject of transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and the College again has a joint session with the European Society of Cardiology, this time on the subject of managing multivessel coronary artery disease on Sunday. 

Finally, I want to invite you all to visit the International Lounge in the Expo Hall, Booth S447. The lounge is a dedicated space for international professionals to network with colleagues and learn about the multitude of international ACC initiatives and partnerships. Whether for business or relaxation, I encourage you all to stop by and take advantage of this resource.

This is only a snapshot of what the College has prepared for its international audience. I hope you all will take advantage of and enjoy the ever growing international content at the ACC’s Annual Scientific Session. See you in San Francisco!

For more information about International activities at ACC.13 visit accscientificsession.org.

The last week of December is always a good time to look back and reflect, and also look forward to the next year, setting new resolutions to help us achieve our goals. This past year has been a busy one for the College, and I’ve been honored to serve as President.  In this blog post, I would like us to reflect on the successes of the past year and take pride in the accomplishments that our member volunteers and staff helped achieve. These have spanned the areas of education, quality, advocacy, membership and international engagement. Here is, in my opinion, a list of ACC’s top 10 successes of 2012:

1. The College launched a new online Lifelong Learning Portfolio to help members track educational needs, as well as learn more efficiently based on preferred topics and formats.
2. The College has embraced a new digital strategy and is improving online education resources based on user feedback, including an improved layout, the addition of CardioCompass and more. We have launched several mobile Apps adding to ACC’s collection, including the ACC Connect App, the CardioSource Mobile App, and for those attending ACC.13 the ACC.13 eMeeting Planner App, and more.
3. The ACC expanded its online and print publication coverage and now covers more clinical news than ever on CardioSource.org.  In addition to the Cardiology magazine print publication, this year the College launched CardioSource WorldNews and  CardioSource InterventionalNews to keep members up to date on both clinical and member news.  In 2013 the ACC is launching a new Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) focused on heart failure.
4. The ACC is enhancing CardioSmart to help CV professionals explain patient conditions at the point-of-care.
5. The College increased its focus on patient-centered initiatives like Million Hearts and Choosing Wisely aimed at preventing heart disease/stroke and ensuring appropriate care. We’ve also elected our first public member to the Board of Trustees.
6. The College’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR^®) launched the STS/ACC TVT Registry™, along with dashboards for the ACTION Registry^®-GWTG ™ and ICD Registry™ so that hospital performance data can be tracked in real-time.
7. The College is developing new quality initiatives around cardiometabolic health and anticoagulation use, along with new clinical toolkits on heart failure and atrial fibrillation to help clinicians meet guideline recommendations at the point of care.
8. 90 percent of ACC PAC-supported candidates (104) won their respective elections in November 2012, strengthening the College’s allies on Capitol Hill.
9. On the international front, the College is expanding international reach to create a more collaborative membership environment across the globe. We have added 10 international Chapters this year, and recently welcomed our 26th chapter; our international membership has reached more than 6,000 members.
10. The ACC’s social media presence is growing strong with more members joining these channels; I became the first Tweeting President with my Twitter account @WilliamZoghbi. Plus, we now have over 12,000 likes on ACC’s Facebook page and more than 6,000 following @ACCinTouch on Twitter!

As we get ready for the year ahead, I hope you can take pride in all that we have accomplished together at the College. I hope you’ve all had happy holidays and I look forward to a great new year!

Last week I was at Heart House for the December Board of Trustees meeting.  We had a packed agenda and a lot of great ideas were discussed about the future of the College. Among them, the Board approved financing of our digital strategy (highlighted in latest issue of Cardiology magazine), saw a preview of the exciting new design and functionality of the CardioSmart.org website to be launched at ACC.13, heard a compelling ACC Internal Value statement from ACC staff, celebrated reaching more than 6,000 international members, and approved the formation of ACC’s Italy Chapter, our 25th International Chapter! 

The BOT also congratulated the newly elected Board of Governors and its new Chair, Dr. David May, and Chair-Elect, Dr. Michael Mansour. I am also pleased to share that the BOT made its recommendations for the 2013-2014 officers and trustees of the College.  Congratulations to the slated officers Drs. John Gordon Harold, Patrick T. O’Gara, Kim Allan Williams, BOT members Drs. Blair D. Erb and Michael J. Mack, and our new public member trustee Debra L. Ness, MS.  The College is proud to have, for the first time in its history, a public member on its Board of Trustees, who would bring a closer public and patient perspective.  The term of the above nominees will start during ACC.13 in San Francisco.

I can also share that the CEO candidate search is moving along as we spent much of the weekend interviewing our first round of candidates.  As I assured the ACC staff during a presentation on Monday, we have an astounding selection of candidates, but as Aesop once said, “slow and steady wins the race.” We are doing very well and do not want to rush the decision making process. However, we should be on track for a CEO to be chosen hopefully by ACC.13.

On Dec. 4, I flew to New York to attend the first Forbes Healthcare Summit. It was a great full day meeting at the Time Warner Center, assembling key stakeholders within the healthcare debate. Many prominent physicians, CEOs of Pharma, healthcare professionals and patient advocates addressed current challenges and opportunities to make our healthcare system more sustainable. Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief, Forbes Media assembled great panels and presenters, and emphasized putting the consumer in the center of our healthcare industry, to improve affordability, accessibility and transparency.

From there I attended the 45th Annual New York Cardiovascular Symposium chaired by Dr. Valentin Fuster. The symposium was attended by close to 2,000 individuals, half of whom were international participants from all over the world. I gave opening remarks, highlighting our digital strategy, how ACC is sharing knowledge using digital media that complements important face-to-face meetings like the Symposia and our Annual Scientific Session. The NYCV Symposium was started 45 years ago by Dr. Henry I. Russek, and has been chaired by Dr. Fuster for the past 23 years!  Kudos to these two giants for carrying the torch of education for almost half a century.

Speaking of digital media, have you downloaded the Cardiology Magazine App yet? You can easily access the magazine on your tablets or smart phone.  Also, if you haven’t flipped through the Nov./Dec. issue of Cardiology magazine yet, there are a number of articles worth reading including the many values of ACC membership beyond the FACC and ACC designations, solutions for an evolving clinical environment that involve the entire cardiac care team, latest chapter and international news, and more. Download the App here or check out the online issue at CardioSource.org/Cardiology.

Over the past few weeks the ACC has expanded its international reach even further and has launched the Spain Chapter, the Argentina Chapter and the Lebanon Chapter, which makes the international chapter count 23 total. We have also passed the 6,000 international member mark, which is an amazing accomplishment for the College. These successes are truly a testament to the efforts the College has put forward to focus on expanding internationally. We have much to learn from one another and our new international members will only help in these efforts.

Last month I attended the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (SBC) Congress in Recife, Brazil.  While in Recife I had the privilege of officially signing the agreement for the Second Annual ACC Cardiovascular Conference in Brazil featuring Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, MACC, to take place in 2013. Anticipated attendance at this event is expected to exceed 2,500 cardiologists from across Latin America. You can see pictures of the signing ceremony with SBC President Jadelson Andrade, MD, FACC, here.

Earlier this month I traveled to Argentina where Jagat Narula, MD, FACC, and I attended the Argentine Society’s Annual Congress of Cardiology and participated in a joint session titled "What Is the Future of Cardiology?" The ACC Argentina Chapter was officially launched and Carlos Barrero, MD, FACC, was named as the new ACC Argentina Chapter Governor. Thank you Drs. Cesar Belziti and Walter Stoerman for your historical and important collaboration in making the Argentina Chapter a reality. Be sure to check out photos from the launch here.

Next up, BOG Chair Dipti Itchhaporia, MD, FACC traveled to Spain for the Spanish Society of Cardiology’s Annual Congress in Sevilla. Vicente Bertomeu, MD, FACC, president of the Spanish Society of Cardiology announced the ACC Spain Chapter at the opening ceremony.  Check out a video posted here where Dr. Bertomeu and Dr. Itchhaporia announce the Spain Chapter. We are truly excited for this new endeavor!

Also, just last week I was in my home country of Lebanon to officially launch ACC’s Lebanon Chapter with Samir Arnaout, MD, FACC, president of the Lebanese Society of Cardiology. This of course holds a special place in my heart since I grew up in Lebanon and most of my family still resides there. You can view photos from the event here. I was surprised and honored to receive two awards during my trip, an award from the Order of Physicians, and a special recognition Award: the National Order of the Cedar, Knight, given by the President of Lebanon General Michel Suleiman. It was such a great honor and a moving experience; we will continue to work with the chapter to advance cardiovascular health in Lebanon and the larger Middle East region.

I also traveled to Beijing, China for the 23rd Annual Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology meeting, which hosted the first-ever patient education event. The meeting, chaired by Professor Dayi Hu, MD, FACC, was an resounding success, with over 13,000 attendees, and featured a full day of joint sessions with the ACC. CardioSmart was an important part of the activities and our patient education materials were translated to Mandarin to teach attendees about exercise, smoking cessation, blood pressure and cholesterol management. An important message from the event focused on encouraging people to walk 10,000 steps a day since exercise is the best medicine. You can view photos from the event here.

In addition to our first foray internationally in China, this fall CardioSmart has really stepped up its community outreach events. Spirit of the Heart (which I had the pleasure of kicking-off in Houston and you can read about it in a previous blog post here) took place in Houston, Dallas and Austin, TX and will be coming to Harlem, NY in December, and Oakland, CA in March. This event touches hundreds of patients who might not have the resources available to check their numbers and to learn about cardiovascular health. CardioSmart also attended a NASCAR event in Charlotte a few weeks ago where hundreds of fans learned more about heart healthy lifestyles and watched CPR demos given by our NC Chapter.

These events are just a few of the activities the ACC has embarked on recently that are affecting the lives of patients nationally and internationally. Of course there is much more to come as we continue to expand and work with our partners. The sky truly is the limit.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @WilliamZoghbi as well as the ACC’s account @ACCinTouch as they use #ACCIntl for the latest international news from the College. Also don’t miss all of the photos from the chapter launches on ACC’s Facebook page.

This post was authored by Jorge Acuña Valerio, MD, member of the ACC Mexico Chapter and fellow-in-training at the Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia Ignacio Chavez.
 
This year I was fortunate to be invited by leaders of the ACC Mexico Chapter to attend the ACC’s Legislative Conference. What was most interesting to me was seeing how the ACC is present in other areas, not just the science and medicine. It is important for cardiologists, and any specialty, to move forward as a group and advocate before other people or organizations. I believe that often times the medical community doesn’t do enough to come together as a group, so it was satisfying to see how in a more developed social model, physicians indeed can come together to advocate before organizations, even government.
 
Physicians have always been leaders in society, and the weigh cardiologists have over any other specialist has always been quite particular. It is because of this responsibility why I think it’s very important for cardiologists to be involved in social activities besides their medical education and clinical formation. The principle of democracy lies when our representatives act in our favor, and to achieve this we need to have our issues exposed to them. If we, as physicians, have the support of such a powerful organization such as the ACC, it’s easier to execute.
 
The Congress in Mexico is comprised of Deputies and Senators. There are 500 Deputies total, and represent the citizens from each region called a “district.” The Senate members are elected by state, and we have 128 members. Even though they’re both Congress members, deputies have more power over the fiscal legislation and the senate has more power over the ins and outs of Mexican politics. Both are elected for three or six year terms, almost every one of them by voting. Although the US and Mexico differ greatly in government structure, there is still much to learn from one another.
 
In Mexico we have a saying: “God can’t hear the one who doesn’t speak.” I think this saying can be applied to the ACC’s Legislative Conference. If we want to move one step closer towards getting our work conditions improved, it’s necessary for us to expose these issues to our political leaders so that they can decide what contribution they can make, which will ultimately benefit patients. After seeing your model, I think in many cases this can be applied to every profession.

Visit the ACC’s International Center on CardioSource.org for more news and information about ACC’s International activities.

This Saturday, Sept. 29 is World Heart Day, a global initiative created by the World Heart Federation to inform people around the globe that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading cause of death, claiming 17.3 million lives each year.

Complementing the health policy statement released last week from the Global Cardiovascular Disease Taskforce which urged timely global action to save preventable death from cardiovascular disease (CVD), this year’s theme will focus on CVD prevention among women and children, and will emphasize the following:

• Women/children and CVD are not synonymous:
  • CVD is commonly considered an “older persons” and a “man’s” disease
  • Women underestimate their CVD risk; even though almost half of the 17.3 million annual deaths occur in women
    
• Children are particularly at risk, since they have little control over their environment and can be limited in choices to living heart-healthy lives
• Unless action is taken to enable heart-healthy activity, the children of today are at increased CVD risk later in life 
• Women/mothers are often the “gate keeper” to their family’s health hence a key influencer in keeping their hearts healthy

The College is proud to be a partner of the World Heart Federation, and is doing its part to promote awareness of women, children and heart disease by engaging members and patients worldwide.

At Heart House, ACC staff will practice what they preach by participating in a number of wellness activities leading up to World Heart Day. ACC member Allen Taylor, MD, FACC, will be giving a special preventive heart talk to staff, and the ACC’s Helping Hearts Community Service team will be speaking at a local elementary school about preventive actions towards CV health.

On the social media front, ACC’s CardioSmart initiative has teamed up with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s The Heart Truth® Campaign, healthfinder.gov, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Million Hearts™ initiative for a special women’s heart health Twitter Chat which will take place this Friday, Sept. 29 from 1 – 2 p.m. ET. During the chat, experts including CardioSmart Editor Joanne Foody, MD, FACC, will be on hand to discuss heart health, dispel myths and answer questions from participants joining the conversation from around the world. To participate, follow @CardioSmart on Twitter and use the hashtag #HeartChat. (View the archived tweets here).

The ACC and CardioSmart have also built awareness through their Facebook pages, reaching a collective audience of nearly 15,000 individuals.  I encourage you to check out both ACC and CardioSmart’s Facebook pages and share the heart health facts, videos, patient tools and more.  (Oh, and “like” them while you’re there!)

In addition, this Saturday the ACC and the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) will be kicking off a series of health events targeted at the nation’s minority and underserved communities. The events, called Spirit of the Heart, provide a variety of activities over a three day span, including a panel discussion and a health fair open to the public where the ACC will conduct free health screenings and risk assessments. The kick off 2012 Spirit of the Heart event will be held in my hometown of Houston, Texas, where Keith Ferdinand, MD, FACC, and I will participate in the panel discussion. Future events will also be held in Dallas and Austin in October; Harlem, NY, in December; and Oakland, CA, to coincide with ACC.13 in San Francisco, so stay tuned!

With a day dedicated to the awareness of preventative steps for women and children, and with the collaborative help from all of our members, partners, and patients, it is my hope that we will be one step closer to dispelling CVD in this population.

Today a very important health policy statement was released from the Global Cardiovascular Disease Taskforce, a group of experts representing the ACCF, World Heart Federation, American Heart Association, European Heart Network and European Society of Cardiology, and include ACC Past President David Holmes, MD, MACC, and myself. The jointly released health policy statement urges timely global action to save preventable death from cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The statement is timely and was released on the one year anniversary of the United Nations High-level meeting on non-communicable diseases (read my blog post from last year’s meeting here).  We are calling on government and the cardiovascular community to accelerate the progress on the commitments made last year and support the ten evidence-based targets, including the top four exposure targets on physical activity, tobacco, dietary salt intake and hypertension/blood pressure. By focusing on these top four targets, the goal is to achieve the following by 2025:

• A 10 percent relative reduction in prevalence of insufficient physical activity in adults aged 18+ years;
• A 30 percent relative reduction in prevalence of current tobacco smoking;
• A 30 percent relative reduction in mean adult (aged 18+) population intake of salt, with aim of achieving recommended level of less than 5 grams per day; and
• A 25 percent relative reduction in prevalence of raised blood pressure.

We all agree that this first step is imperative if we are to achieve the overarching goal of a 25 percent reduction in mortality from non-communicable diseases by 2015, a goal that was determined this past May at the 65th World Health Assembly in Geneva.

The ACC is calling upon its members to take this statement to heart. With CVD costing governments nearly $863 billion globally, and the number of deaths related to CVD expected to grow to more than 23.6 million by 2030, the consequences will be astronomical if we are not successful at curbing these preventable deaths. Read more about the statement on CardioSource.org.

A spotlight will be on cardiovascular disease during World Heart Day on Sept. 29, and the College and other stakeholders worldwide are participating in activities focused on prevention for women and children. More information on ACC World Heart Day activities is posted on both the ACC and CardioSmart Facebook pages.

The month of September is Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Awareness Month. AFib is the most common arrhythmia in clinical practice affecting more than 2.2 million people in the U.S. and 4.5 million people in the European Union. As a result it is also an extremely costly public health problem, with roughly $3,600 as the global annual cost per patient.

Over the last 20 years there has been a 66 percent increase in hospital admissions for AFib. Some of the reasons for this increase include an aging population; increasing prevalence of chronic heart disease; and more frequent diagnosis thanks to improving technology. The rising obesity epidemic is also no doubt another factor.

As part of AFib Awareness Month, the College is focused on raising awareness about AFib among both clinicians and patients. According to the ACC/AHA AFib Guidelines, it’s very important that an overall management strategy be discussed with patients. This strategy should incorporate:
•    type and duration of AFib
•    associated symptoms
•    associated cardiovascular disease
•    effect of age and other medical conditions
•    cardiovascular risks of AFib
•    short-term and long-term treatment goals
•    pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapeutic options

Treatment options for patients at risk of stroke include anticoagulation of any type (vitamin K antagonist, direct thrombin inhibitors, Xa inhibitors) as indicated by guidelines, and their risks, side effects and benefits. There are now several options that are highly efficacious in reducing the risk of stroke. Several clinical trial updates recently addressed topics such as stroke rates in patients presenting to the emergency room with AFib and the impact on renal function of apixaban vs. warfarin in AFib patients. The WOEST trial at ESC, was the first randomized trial comparing clopidrogel with and without aspirin in patients on oral anticoagulant therapy who were undergoing PCI.

Unfortunately, there is still significant clinical underuse of anticoagulant therapies in AFib and misunderstandings about the safety and efficacy of novel anticoagulant agents. Furthermore, a recent CardioSurve survey found several key differences in the treatment of AFib around the globe. Cardiologists were surveyed from the US, Brazil, China, Germany, India and the UK, and showed that control over anticoagulation options varied by country. Physicians in the UK and China indicate that they have less control over the anticoagulation options available to patients. Costs and bleeding rate concerns are among the reasons for the difference. The College is currently in the early stages of developing a comprehensive initiative to address gaps in treatment and encourage compliance with guideline-recommended care.

On the patient front, CardioSmart offers patients tools to support them in their treatment and management of AFib. The AFib condition center on CardioSmart.org has background of the disease, the key facts, questions to ask a doctor and more. In addition, patient education videos include What You Need to Know About Stroke Risk and Why Your Rate and Rhythm Matter. Check out our “AF by the Numbers” infograph on CardioSmart’s Facebook page  and share with your patients.

This week the College launched its new AFib Clinical Toolkit, which provides tools and strategies for the patient care team to support high-quality care for patients with AFib in light of new therapies.

More on the AFib toolkit and other efforts by the College to continuously educate health care providers on the tried-and-true practices for AFib care through innovative educational programs will be discussed in the coming weeks here on the blog, so stay tuned!

This blog post is part of a series of blog posts during AFib Awareness Month. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more information from the College on AFib news, tools and initiatives. Also visit ACC’s Facebook page for additional information.