The era of preventive cardiology

Abstract

Attention to prevention is a sign of civilization. A testimony to the understanding that the treatment of symptomatic disease only, in spite of the obvious benefits to individuals, will never truly reduce the burden of disease. In cardiovascular diseases, major progress has been made in the management of acute and chronic conditions, but treatment clearly has little meaning in those numerous cases where the first manifestation of disease was fatal. Only preventive efforts can combat the occurrence of sudden death and impact morbidity on a population scale. Prevention has many manifestations. Primary prevention regards the detection and management of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Increasingly it is the risk that is targeted rather than the individual risk factors, such as hypertension or hyperlipidaemia, summarized in a risk profile. Some risk factors are the consequences of a complex interplay between genes and environment, such as high blood pressure and obesity, others are the result of wilful individual choices, such as smoking. Secondary prevention aims at improving prognosis following an episode of symptomatic cardiovascular disease. Secondary prevention may help to prevent new events or be targeted at improving quality of life or functional capacity. Secondary prevention is the long-term drug treatment in patients with chronic ischaemic heart disease or following stroke. Secondary prevention is also the expanding array of approaches in rehabilitation that make patients overcome or manage the consequences of acute coronary disease or heart failure. Sports cardiology shares with exercise physiology an interest in the mechanisms and consequences of physical activity on cardiovascular health or health risks. Increasing physical activity, together with stopping smoking, is probably one of the most effective ways to improve cardiovascular health and promote healthy ageing. The science and art of cardiovascular prevention, whether primary or secondary, whether for heart disease or stroke, whether in the young or the old, is what binds the readership of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation. It is for that reason that you are now looking at the first issue of the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. The change in the name of the Journal was not made lightheartedly. It was rooted in the view that the ‘old’ name of the Journal had a number of restrictions. It was not internally consistent (is rehabilitation not part of prevention?) and was too much of a compromise reflecting old domains of research and care. Last but not least, the name was too long and not easy to remember. Does anything else change with the change of the name? Yes and no. No, because the Journal remains the principal platform for scientific exchange and discussion for the Association. Yes, because under the new name we will be even more effective in positioning the Journal as the first choice for authors to submit highquality manuscripts related to preventive cardiology. The impact factor of the Journal is rising and the number of submissions continuously increasing with an expanding reach across the globe. Of note, temporarily the Journal’s impact factor will show a fall with the change in the name. This is because citations will be divided between the old and the new title. However, this will not affect your individual or institutional citation rates and will recover as soon as the 2-year impact factor evaluation period will only regard the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Some concerns have been raised that the new name of the Journal is too cardiocentric. For starters, the Journal is published under auspices of the European Society of Cardiology. At the same time the Journal is reflecting the full range of interests of the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation including disciplines such as cardiac rehabilitation, sports cardiology, exercise physiology, epidemiology, and public health. We all know that the heart is but a component of the circulation and preventive cardiology encompasses anything having to do with diseases of the arterial system. The Journal is open to any work related to the vessels and the heart. All scientists and healthcare professionals engaged in research