Two AHA councils become one. Ringing out the old and bringing in the new.

Abstract

At the dawning of the new millennium, major changes in cardiovascular science lie on the horizon, including increased pay lines and a proposal to double the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget in 5 years; major victories in the war against cigarette smoking by the American Heart Association (AHA) and an emphasis on outcomes research; the winding down of the Human Genome project; a reduction in the number of young people entering academic cardiovascular medicine; and the transition to a new editor at Circulation Research . Concurrent with all of these events and, perhaps, to better participate in these new directions, the Councils on Circulation and Basic Science, two of the thirteen councils of the AHA, have recently merged. The merger comes after a great deal of agonizing over the past several years, in fact, for more than 35 years, concerning the now artificial distinction between disciplines in basic cardiovascular sciences and the ensuing loss of individual identity due to the merging of so many scientific disciplines. Out of this reflection comes what we believe to be the best of the “old councils” and new energy and direction from their union. Council (Section) on Circulation: The Council on Circulation1 2 was the first “section” of the AHA and was formed as the Section on Peripheral Circulation in 1935. Its function was to encourage investigation into the function of the circulation. At its first annual meeting in 1936, nine papers were presented on topics such as assessment of peripheral resistance, surgical treatment of hypertension, …