Work to do in preventive cardiology

Jorge F. Trejo, MD, MHS, Robert E. Safford, MD, PhD, and Gerald F. Fletcher, MD

The 33rd Bethesda Conference, “Preventive Cardiology: How Can We Do Better?” addressed the magnitude of the problem, discussed the costs of implementing recommendations, detailed the specific targets and strategies for intervention, and specified the role of the general and preventive cardiologists as leaders in this effort. The conference provided a superb analysis of the complexity involved in changing the individual and mass determinants of this global epidemic. The detailed recommendations can be found in the published document, including research, funding, policy, and clinical-educational objectives. We emphasize herein those recommendations in funding and policy that deserve special attention. Although research and clinical education are of paramount importance, it seems obvious that these cannot be effectively implemented without appropriate funding and public policy change.