AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PREVENTIVE CARDIOLOGY

On behalf of the members of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology (ASPC), we are delighted to adopt Preventive Cardiology as the official journal of ASPC. The origins of ASPC date back more than 25 years, when a working group of scientists from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommended that curricula be developed to facilitate medical school teaching and research efforts aimed at the prevention of cardiovascular disease.1 Through this mechanism, 60 institutions (48% of US medical schools) were among the 13 classes who received the prestigious 5-year Preventive Cardiology Academic Award (PCAA) between 1979 and 1996. In addition to establishing preventive cardiology programs at their respective institutions, PCAA recipients have written preventive cardiology textbooks and have served in a variety of leadership roles—as editors and editorial board members, and on task forces and councils of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology. As a result of the success of the PCAA, moreover, the National Institutes of Health subsequently developed and supported the Preventive Pulmonary Academic Award and the Nutrition Academic Award. The ASPC was launched in 1985 under the guidance of Dr. Joseph Stokes III. Designed initially to provide a forum for the dissemination of PCAA programs, the Society was expanded in 1990. During this period, the scope of cardiovascular prevention was broadened within AHA to include population studies (epidemiology), blood pressure (hypertension), lipids (arteriosclerosis), nutrition, exercise, and clinical cardiology. As a result, a new Council on Preventive Cardiology was created within the AHA. The new AHA Council on Preventive Cardiology combined with the AHA Council on Epidemiology to form the AHA Council on Epidemiology and Prevention. The ASPC meets annually in conjunction with the AHA Council on Epidemiology and Prevention meeting. This year, the meeting will be held in Washington, DC from April 30th to May 3rd. Beginning in 1994, the ASPC presented debates related to controversial issues in preventive cardiology. These controversy-debate sessions are among the most popular and well attended of the scientific meetings. A complete list of the debate topics and presenters is shown in Table I. In addition to sponsoring the debates, an officer of the ASPC also serves on the Spring Committee of the AHA Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, which is responsible for developing and implementing the annual scientific sessions. The Stokes award commemorates Joseph Stokes III, MD (1924–1989), a cardiologist and epidemiologist who served as coprincipal investigator of the Framingham Heart Study. Dr. Stokes graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1949 and trained in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins and the Massachusetts General Hospital. He also studied epidemiology and biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Stokes joined the Framingham Heart Study in 1951 as a US Public Health Service physician. During his illustrious career, Dr. Stokes promoted education, research, and clinical practice within the field of preventive cardiology. He became a faculty member within the Department of Preventive Medicine at Harvard Medical School in 1954 and was the Director of the Family Health Program at Massachusetts General Hospital until joining the Hawaii State Department of Health, where he published the classic study demonstrating the differential impact of lipids on coronary heart disease rates in Japanese and Hawaiian men. In 1964, Dr. Stokes relocated to the University of California at San Diego, where he became the first Dean of the Medical School and the first Chair of the Department of Community and Family Medicine. In 1976, Dr. Stokes moved to Boston University Medical School, where he became Professor of Medicine and Public Health and received the PCAA for 1982–1987. He was past president of the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine, and he served as editor of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and associate editor of The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Stokes died of cancer at the age of 64. To honor Dr. Stokes, the ASPC annually recognizes an outstanding individual who has made significant contributions in the field of cardiovascular prevention. The Stokes Award is presented at the ASPC dinner held in conjunction with the AHA Council on Epidemiology and Prevention meetings. Recipients of the Stokes Award are shown in Table II. The rich history of the ASPC and the excellent coverage of important topics in Preventive Cardiology provide an exceptional opportunity to combine forces to facilitate educational and research efforts aimed at cardiovascular prevention. In upcoming issues of Preventive Cardiology, the ASPC will compose a President's Message and arrange the Controversy Debates for publication. In addition, ASPC-sponsored continuing medical education forums are expected to result in Preventive Cardiology supplement issues that address timely topics relevant to the diagnosis, management, and, of course, prevention of cardiovascular disease. In turn, Preventive Cardiology subscribers will have the opportunity to become members of ASPC. ASPC offers members an informal support network of health care professionals who share clinical, educational, and research interests related to cardiovascular prevention. The ASPC network provides active collaboration and professional support to members developing programs in all of these areas. Our website is: http://www.members.aol.com/preventivecardio/prevent.htm. The site is currently being updated and redesigned and we will keep you abreast of the progress made in this endeavor. Membership is $30 yearly and includes an invitation to the annual Stokes Dinner. Active members may also have an opportunity to take a leadership role within ASPC. This is a very exciting time to become involved in an organization dedicated to cardiovascular prevention and we are extremely delighted to work with the outstanding staff at Preventive Cardiology, published by Le Jacq Ltd. Special acknowledgments go out to Elaine Stone, PhD, for spearheading the PCAA; Robin Crouse, MD, for his tireless efforts and continued active involvement in ASPC even after stepping down as ASPC President (2001); Ezra A. Amsterdam, MD, Editor in Chief of Preventive Cardiology, who has also had the distinction of serving as ASPC President (1991); and T. Anthony Howell of LeJacq Ltd. for facilitating this alliance. Finally, I want to extend warm wishes to Lori Mosca, MD, who will undoubtedly do an outstanding job as incoming President of the ASPC.

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