From bench to bedside: the future is now. Presented at the 72nd Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association, Atlanta, Georgia.

Abstract

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 72nd Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. This year’s meeting provides an opportunity to look back with pride on the advances in science and medicine of the 20th century and an opportunity to look ahead with enthusiasm to the advances to come. But I want to talk to you today about another opportunity—a challenge, if you will—that is facing us right now, one that I believe we, as a worldwide medical community and as a global society, have not adequately met. A century ago, a male born in America in the year 1900 had an average life expectancy of 47 years. Today, a male born in this country has a life expectancy of 73 years, and for females, the average is almost 80 years. And although the numbers are not as high in the less-developed regions of the world, the increase in life expectancy has been equally dramatic worldwide. In the first half of this century, most of the factors that improved longevity, health, and well-being were related to advances in medicine, particularly in the isolation and eradication of infectious diseases, and the resulting decline in the infant death rate. We have witnessed, for example, the eradication of small pox, the control of polio, and the discovery and application of antibiotics such as sulfa and penicillin. It is only in the second half of the 20th century—recent history, really—that we have seen tremendous scientific advances in the understanding of the mechanisms underlying coronary artery disease, including stroke, and significant technological advances in the treatment of acute illness due to cardiovascular diseases. We have witnessed the essential eradication of rheumatic fever. We have identified the risk factors for atherosclerosis and enhanced our understanding of the role of risk …