Last month I was in Orlando at the American College of Cardiology's big annual meeting--10,000 cardiologists from around the world. I was there with some of the Foundation's current grantees, who were rolling out a new geriatrics curriculum for cardiology Fellows. In the main exhibit hall, row after row of the latest high-tech wonders reminded me of my dad's heart attack three years ago and why I am so passionate about my job.
The Foundation has been working with the cardiology community for five decades to help raise the visibility and awareness of the special problems attendant to older patients.
For example, in 1961, the Foundation funded the nation's first cardiac care unit, at the Bethany Medical Center, Kansas City. The commemorative plaque from the unit is now housed behind glass at Heart House, ACC's national headquarters in Washington, DC. And even before that, in the mid-1950s, we funded research at Harvard on dietary induction of atherosclerosis in primates and on the development of cardioversion therapies for cardiac arrhythmias.
Thirteen years ago, in 1996, the Foundation brought geriatricians and cardiologists together to assess the state of the science around geriatric cardiology. And two years ago, the Foundation funded the development of an online geriatrics curriculum for all cardiology fellows in training, Essentials of Cardiovascular Care in Older Adults. The curriculum was launched recently in Orlando, and all cardiologists in training now have access to it.
Dad's ok now, but at 82, he moves a little more slowly these days. We were lucky that he was treated by well-trained cardiologists. Our goal at the Foundation is to see the day when the special problems of the oldest cardiac care patients are handled routinely. We've partnered with cardiologists for a long time--and we're in for the long haul to achieve our vision.