From the BCVS Chair.

Abstract

In July 2019, the American Heart Association (AHA) Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science (BCVS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary. For this first News and Views: From the BCVS Chair for Circulation Research , I thought it would be most appropriate to provide a brief history and mission statement of the AHA BCVS Council. In 1924, 6 leading cardiologists across the nation—Drs Lewis A. Conner, Robert H. Halsey, Hugh D. McCulloch, Robert B. Preble, Joseph Sailer, and Paul D. White—founded the AHA in New York City.1,2 Originally, the organization was called the Association for the Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease. At the time, little was known about the root pathobiology, risk factors, or treatment of heart disease. These visionary physicians recognized the deep need for a national organization and platform that would enable the free exchange of knowledge, with a goal of providing more effective treatment of patients with heart disease. Since then, AHA has evolved into the leading organization for dissemination of information on cardiovascular disease, with guidelines and protocols representing the standard of care across the world. The Council of BCVS emerged from the AHA as a result of a successful merger of 2 leading AHA Councils/Sections: the Council/Section on Circulation and the Council/Section on Basic Science.3,4 The Council on Circulation was originally established in 1935 as the Section for the Study of the Peripheral Circulation and was among the initial 13 AHA Sections. Dr George E. Brown served …