Association Of Black Cardiologists Research Articles

Nurturing Diverse Generations of the Medical Workforce for Success With Authenticity: An Association of Black Cardiologists’ Roundtable

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the consequences of systemic racism in the United States with Black, Hispanic, and other racial and ethnic diverse populations dying at disproportionately higher rates than White Americans. Addressing the social and health disparities amplified by COVID-19 requires in part restructuring of the healthcare system, particularly the diversity of the healthcare workforce to better reflect that of the US population. In January 2021, the Association of Black Cardiologists hosted a virtual roundtable designed to discuss key issues pertaining to medical workforce diversity and to identify strategies aimed at improving racial and ethnic diversity in medical school, graduate medical education, faculty, and leadership positions. The Nurturing Diverse Generations of the Medical Workforce for Success with Authenticity roundtable brought together diverse stakeholders and champions of diversity and inclusion to discuss innovative ideas, solutions, and opportunities to address workforce diversification.

S-15-2: COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF HYPERTENSION

There are multiple level factors that contribute to hypertension prevalence and control across various racial/ethnic populations. Hypertension rates in non-Hispanic Black (African American) adults in the USA are among the highest globally, impacted by the social determinants of health. Clinical approaches include team-based care, encouraging self-measured blood pressure, and strengthening community-clinical linkages. Prevention of new-onset hypertension and complications has been clearly demonstrated with community-level NaCl substitution in China and Peru. In the USA, Black population treatment approaches as community interventions include early initiatives from the Association of Black Cardiologists and the Healthy Heart Community Prevention Project (HHCPP) in New Orleans. The HHCPP was one of the early adopters of using barbers and hair stylists as hypertension control centers, working with faith-based institutions, and doing community education and outreach. Evidence-based approaches, now proven to be effective, include the faith-based treatment program for hypertension in New York, NY and a very successful in cluster-randomized trial demonstrating hypertension control in Black barbershops in Los Angeles, CA. The positive components of the Los Angeles barbershop intervention include trusted site of blood pressure intervention, physician-pharmacist collaboration, and effective anti-hypertensive medication including initial two drug protocol with amlodipine and a long-acting RAS blocker, and the appropriate use of aldosterone antagonists. Ongoing research include a small pilot study, simple text messaging and social support in New Orleans for medication adherence which will be reported at the AHA 2022 scientific sessions, and a large church-based health intervention study addressing primary prevention, including hypertension in New Orleans among 42 selected African American churches using community health workers in a combination of exercise weight-loss programs, self-monitoring blood pressure, glucose, and physical activity, and group education centers. In the USA, the American Heart Association in conjunction with the US Department of Health and Human services have initiated a national hypertension control initiative. Overarching strategies include patient and public education, community outreach and integration, and healthcare organization including provider and clinician training, as well as management evaluation of the project. This national program will engage community partners with federal health centers. In conclusion, hypertension can be controlled with evidence-based medicines, not only in clinical settings, but also with interventions in the community environment. Therapeutic lifestyle and evidence-based pharmacotherapy along with self-monitored blood pressure can lead to blood pressure control, especially in racial/ethnic populations.

Richard Allen Williams, M.D.: a Career Fighting Disparities and Fostering Equity.

This is a literature review where we acknowledge Richard Allen Williams, the first African American physician to win the John P. McGovern Compleat Physician Award, and recognize his achievements in race and ethnicity in healthcare. There have been significant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease; however, racial disparities continue to create inequity in the medical community especially for African Americans. Dr. Williams founded the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) in 1974 to address the misperception about, and the misdiagnosis and maltreatment of African American patients. He emphasized the importance of diversity and the non-biased approach to the treatment of all communities. This literary review further explores current racial disparities African Americans face during the COVID-19 pandemic. Granted that Dr. Williams’ win is a step towards progress and change, there is much to be done to conquer the cultural divide in healthcare.

2018 AHA/ACC/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines.

2018 AHA/ACC/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines.

The Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) Cardiovascular Implementation Study (CVIS): A Research Registry Integrating Social Determinants to Support Care for Underserved Patients.

African Americans, other minorities and underserved populations are consistently under- represented in clinical trials. Such underrepresentation results in a gap in the evidence base, and health disparities. The ABC Cardiovascular Implementation Study (CVIS) is a comprehensive prospective cohort registry that integrates social determinants of health. ABC CVIS uses real world clinical practice data to address critical gaps in care by facilitating robust participation of African Americans and other minorities in clinical trials. ABC CVIS will include diverse patients from collaborating ABC member private practices, as well as patients from academic health centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). This paper describes the rationale and design of the ABC CVIS Registry. The registry will: (1) prospectively collect socio-demographic, clinical and biospecimen data from enrolled adults, adolescents and children with prioritized cardiovascular diseases; (2) Evaluate the safety and clinical outcomes of new therapeutic agents, including post marketing surveillance and pharmacovigilance; (3) Support National Institutes of Health (NIH) and industry sponsored research; (4) Support Quality Measures standards from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Commercial Health Plans. The registry will utilize novel data and technology tools to facilitate mobile health technology application programming interface (API) to health system or practice electronic health records (EHR). Long term, CVIS will become the most comprehensive patient registry for underserved diverse patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and co morbid conditions, providing real world data to address health disparities. At least 10,000 patients will be enrolled from 50 sites across the United States.

Creating a Legion of Diabetes Patient Advocates: DPAC Policy Training Meeting and Hill Day.

The Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition (DPAC) held a Policy Training Meeting and Hill Day September 29-October 1, 2018, in Washington, DC. Attendees were members of DPAC's Board of Directors and Staff, Patient Advisory Board, and individuals identified through a competitive call for applicants on DPAC's website and social media. We were joined by advocates from the Association of Black Cardiologists and the Endocrine Society. The Policy Training Meeting focused on teaching citizen advocates how to share their stories with legislators while integrating facts and statistics to reinforce their experiences. After two days of training, we met with our legislators on Capitol Hill to discuss two closely related issues: access to affordable insulin and diabetes self-management training. The partnership of patient advocates and health care providers was a powerful tool to get our message across. Meetings like this encourage open discussion and networking as well as education regarding individual advocacy. They are an effective way to bring people together as allies for the diabetes community. DPAC plans to hold additional Policy Training Meetings to develop leaders in each state who represent the voice of people living with diabetes.

2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults: Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines.

2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults: Executive Summary: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines.

Research Participation of a Professional Organization in Clinical Trials: The Association of Black cardiologists Clinical Trial Investigator Identification Project

IntroductionBlack individuals continue to be underrepresented in clinical trials despite efforts by the National Institutes of Health and the Federal Drug Administration to increase their enrollment. Health care providers play a critical role in the recruitment of patients into clinical trials, as they have established relationships and are uniquely positioned to make referrals for participation. While prior initiatives have focused on training black physicians to conduct clinical research, we sought to determine the potential of utilizing a professional organization as a resource to identify established investigators to champion recruitment of underrepresented racial and ethnic populations. The Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) is a non-profit organization with a mission to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease and may provide a conduit for recruiting investigators. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of using the ABC membership to identify investigators with an established track record in clinical trials. Methods/ResultsUtilizing a roster of ABC members, we searched Scopus to quantify ABC member publications from 1999 to 2015 and identify members who have been active in clinical trials. Within the membership of 2037 individuals, we identified 794 with peer-reviewed publications, and 109 who co-authored manuscripts involving randomized clinical trials. The manuscripts largely focused on hypertension and heart failure, conditions that have a disproportionately greater affect on black individuals. ConclusionMembers of the ABC have varied amounts of research productivity. We identified a group of experienced investigators to engage in efforts aimed at recruiting/enrolling underrepresented racial and ethnic populations in clinical trials of cardiovascular disease.

The Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Black Diaspora.

For over four decades the National Medical Association (NMA) and the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) have sought to bring to national attention the disparate burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among African Americans. However, systematic inquiry has been inadequate into the burden of CVD in the poor countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the African diaspora in the Americas outside the USA. However, recently, the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) has offered new tools for such inquiry. Several initial efforts in that direction using 2010 data have been published. This article highlights some new findings for SSA for 2016. It also suggests that NMA and ABC further this effort by direct advocacy and collaboration with the GBD to make estimates of CVD burden in African Americans and South American Blacks explicitly available in future iterations.

2013 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk

Preamble and Transition to ACC/AHA Guidelines to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk S50 The goals of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) are to prevent cardiovascular diseases (CVD); improve the management of people who have these diseases through professional education and research; and develop guidelines, standards, and policies that promote optimal patient care and cardiovascular health. Toward these objectives, the ACC and AHA have collaborated with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and stakeholder and professional organizations to develop …

2013 AHA/ACC Guideline on Lifestyle Management to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk

2013 AHA/ACC Guideline on Lifestyle Management to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk

Performance Measures in Million Hearts

Million Hearts is a public–private initiative designed to prevent 1 million Americans from suffering from myocardial infarction or stroke within the next 4.5 years.1 Inaugurated by the Department of Health and Human Services in September 2011, supporting partners soon included private sector institutions such as the Association of Black Cardiologists, the American College of Cardiology (ACC), and the American Heart Association (AHA). The tactics of Million Hearts focus on 2 broad objectives: (1) public health interventions to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease through dietary reduction of sodium and trans fats and the reduction of smoking in the environment; and (2) clinical interventions, the ABCS, of aspirin use when appropriate, blood pressure (BP) control, cholesterol reduction, and smoking cessation. We believe that this effort can do a great deal to reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular-related deaths in this country. The partnership between the Federal government and professional medical societies as well as private organizations in a joint effort to eliminate cardiovascular disease has great strength in achieving the stated goals and objectives. The leaders of Million Hearts have been very forthcoming in communicating with their partners about matters such as the performance measures that they are planning to use in the campaign and in asking for input regarding the chosen metrics. As a result, the Clinical Quality Committee of the ACC recently had the opportunity to participate in providing some informal feedback to Million Hearts leadership. In this perspective, we would like to share that feedback because we believe the points made have applicability with respect to the use of performance measures well …

Is there a need for adjusting the results of the recent meta-analysis on the novel oral anticoagulants in atrial fibrillation to the baseline CHADS2 score?

[1] Mancia G, De Backer G, Dominiczak A, et al. The task force for the management of arterial hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension. The task force for the management of arterial hypertension of the European Society of Cardiology. 2007 Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension: the Task Force for the ManagementofArterialHypertensionof the European Society ofHypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Eur Heart J 2007;28:1462–536. [2] Rabi DM, Daskalopoulou SS, Padwal RS, et al. Canadian Hypertension Education Program. The 2011 Canadian Hypertension Education Program recommendations for the management of hypertension: blood pressure measurement, diagnosis, assessment of risk, and therapy. Can J Cardiol 2011;27:415–33. [3] Ogihara T, KikuchiK,MatsuokaH, et al. The JapaneseSocietyofHypertensionguidelines for the management of hypertension (JSH 2009). Hypertens Res 2009;32:3–107. [4] Chiang CE,Wang TD, Li YH, et al. 2010 guidelines of the TaiwanSociety of Cardiology for the management of hypertension. J Formos Med Assoc 2010;109:740–73. [5] Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, et al. Seventh report of the Joint National Committee on prevention, detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure. Hypertension 2003;42:1206–52. [6] Mancia G, Laurent S, Agabiti-Rosei E, et al. Reappraisal of European guidelines on hypertension management: a European Society of Hypertension Task Force document. Blood Press 2009;18:308–47. [7] Aronow WS, Fleg JL, Pepine CJ, et al. ACCF/AHA 2011 expert consensus document on hypertension in the elderly: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Clinical Expert Consensus documents developed in collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology, American Geriatrics Society, American Society for Preventive Cardiology, American Society of Hypertension, American Society of Nephrology, Association of Black Cardiologists, and European Society of Hypertension. J Am Coll Cardiol 2011;57:2037–114. [8] Okin PM, Kjeldsen SE, Julius S, et al. Racial differences in sudden cardiac death among hypertensive patients during antihypertensive therapy: the LIFE study. Heart Rhythm 2012;9:531–7. [9] Myerburg R, Castellanos A. Cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death. In: Libby P, Bonow R, Mann D, Zipes D, Braunwald E, editors. Braunwald's heart disease. Philadelphia, USA: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. p. 933–74. [10] Olgin J, Zipes D. Specific arrhythmias: diagnosis and treatment. In: Libby P, Bonow R, Mann D, Zipes D, Braunwald E, editors. Braunwald's heart disease. Philadelphia, USA: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. p. 863–922. [11] Singh BN. Beta-adrenergic blockers as antiarrhythmic and antifibrillatory compounds: an overview. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol Ther 2005;10(Suppl 1):S3–S14. [12] Coats AJ, Shewan LG. Ethics in the authorship and publishing of scientific articles. Int J Cardiol 2010;144:1–2.

Community‐Based Approaches to Prevention and Management of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease

Community hypertension (HTN) outreach seeks to improve public health by identifying HTN and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks. In the 1980s, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) funded multiple positive community studies. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program addresses CVD risks. In 1978, in Baltimore, MD, the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), organized barbershops and churches as HTN control centers, as in New Orleans, LA, since 1993, the Healthy Heart Community Prevention Project (HHCPP). Also, the NHLBI Community Health Workers and Promotores de Salud are beneficial. The American Society of Hypertension (ASH) Hypertension Community Outreach program provides free HTN and CVD screenings, digital BP monitors, multilingual and literacy-appropriate information, and videos. Contemporary major federal programs, such as the Million Hearts Initiative, are ongoing. Overall, the evidence-based Logic Model should enhance planning, implementation, and dissemination.

ACCF/AHA 2011 Expert Consensus Document on Hypertension in the Elderly: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Clinical Expert Consensus Documents Developed in Collaboration With the American Academy of Neurology, American Geriatrics Society, American Society for Preventive Cardiology, American Society of Hypertension, American Society of Nephrology, Association of Black Cardiologists, and European Society of Hypertension

ACCF/AHA 2011 Expert Consensus Document on Hypertension in the Elderly: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Clinical Expert Consensus Documents Developed in Collaboration With the American Academy of Neurology, American Geriatrics Society, American Society for Preventive Cardiology, American Society of Hypertension, American Society of Nephrology, Association of Black Cardiologists, and European Society of Hypertension

ACCF/AHA 2011 Expert Consensus Document on Hypertension in the Elderly: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Clinical Expert Consensus Documents Developed in Collaboration With the American Academy of Neurology, American Geriatrics Society, American Society for Preventive Cardiology, American Society of Hypertension, American Society of Nephrology, Association of Black Cardiologists, and European Society of Hypertension

ACCF/AHA 2011 Expert Consensus Document on Hypertension in the Elderly: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Clinical Expert Consensus Documents Developed in Collaboration With the American Academy of Neurology, American Geriatrics Society, American Society for Preventive Cardiology, American Society of Hypertension, American Society of Nephrology, Association of Black Cardiologists, and European Society of Hypertension

Ten most important things to learn from the ACCF/AHA 2011 expert consensus document on hypertension in the elderly

The American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association 2011 Expert Consensus Document on Hypertension in the Elderly has been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and in Circulation, and will be published in the Journal of the American Society of Hypertension and the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology. This document has also been developed in collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology, the American Geriatrics Society, the American Society of Preventive Cardiology, the American Society of Hypertension, the American Society of Nephrology, the Association of Black Cardiologists, and the European Society of Hypertension. The present article is a short summary emphasizing the 10 most important things to learn from this document.

ACCF/AHA 2011 Expert Consensus Document on Hypertension in the Elderly: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Clinical Expert Consensus Documents Developed in Collaboration With the American Academy of Neurology, American Geriatrics Society, American Society for Preventive Cardiology, American Society of Hypertension, American Society of Nephrology, Association of Black Cardiologists, and European Society of Hypertension

ACCF/AHA 2011 Expert Consensus Document on Hypertension in the Elderly: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Task Force on Clinical Expert Consensus Documents Developed in Collaboration With the American Academy of Neurology, American Geriatrics Society, American Society for Preventive Cardiology, American Society of Hypertension, American Society of Nephrology, Association of Black Cardiologists, and European Society of Hypertension

Response to Letters Regarding Article, “Does Black Ethnicity Influence the Development of Stent Thrombosis in the Drug-Eluting Stent Era?”

Regarding the various responses to our report, “Does Black Ethnicity Influence the Development of Stent Thrombosis in the Drug-Eluting Stent Era?”,1 we appreciate the thoughtful remarks by Smith et al and Ferdinand et al, and welcome the opportunity to clarify our viewpoints. Our conclusions do not imply that blacks do not benefit from, or should not receive, drug-eluting stents. It would be unfounded to conclude from our findings that current clinical practice should be modified. We applaud initiatives such as the Coalition to Reduce Disparities in CV Outcomes (CREDO) and organizations such as the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), which aim to increase …

ACCF/AHA 2011 Expert Consensus Document on Hypertension in the Elderly

This document has been developed as an expert consensus document by the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and the American Heart Association (AHA), in collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the American College of Physicians (ACP), the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), the American Society of Hypertension (ASH), the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the American Society for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC), the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH). Expert consensus documents are intended to inform practitioners, payers, and other interested parties of the opinion of ACCF and document cosponsors concerning evolving areas of clinical practice and/or technologies that are widely available or new to the practice community. Topics chosen for coverage by expert consensus documents are so designed because the evidence base, the experience with technology, and/or clinical practice are not considered sufficiently well developed to be evaluated by the formal ACCF/AHA practice guidelines process. Often the topic is the subject of considerable ongoing investigation. Thus, the reader should view the expert consensus document as the best attempt of the ACCF and document cosponsors to inform and guide clinical practice in areas where rigorous evidence may not yet be available or evidence to date is not widely applied to clinical practice. When feasible, expert consensus documents include indications or contraindications. Typically, formal recommendations are not provided in expert consensus documents as these documents do not formally grade the quality of evidence, and the provision of “Recommendations” is felt to be more appropriately within the purview of the ACCF/AHA practice guidelines. However, recommendations from ACCF/AHA practice guidelines and ACCF appropriate use criteria are presented where pertinent to the discussion. The writing committee is in agreement with these recommendations. Finally, some topics covered by expert consensus documents will be addressed subsequently by the ACCF/AHA …