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November 14, 2020
2 min of reading
Source / Disclosures
Elkind MSV. Presidential session. Presented at: American Heart Association Scientific Sessions; 13-17 November 2020 (virtual meeting).
Disclosures:
Elkind does not report material financial information.
According to the president of the American Heart Association, collaboration between disciplines and the connection between science and practice is critical if today’s challenges, from COVID-19 to racial disparities, are to be resolved.
Mitchell SV Elkind
During a speech at the AHA virtual science sessions, Mitchell SV Elkind, MD, MS, FAAN, FAHA, a professor of neurology and epidemiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and second neurologist to serve as president of the AHA, said today’s challenges “are perhaps the greatest in the history of the American Heart Association.”
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CVD remains the “No. 1 killer in the world,” Elkin said. “Stroke, number 2 worldwide, is also the leading cause of severe long-term disability. Also, many people have small heart attacks deep in the brain, [which] they are responsible for the slow decline in cognitive function seen in many of us as we age. This is actually a form of brain failure, similar to heart failure. Consequently, the idea that neurodegenerative diseases exist completely separately from vascular diseases has been seriously challenged. More and more evidence has shown that vascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and atrial fibrillation are related to cognitive decline and dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. “
In cardiology, “we are starting to cross the bridges that connect the cardiovascular and neurodegenerative systems,” he said.
The AHA has partnered with the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group and other organizations to provide $ 43 million in funding for research into vascular and other age-related factors that contribute to neurodegenerative diseases, Elkind said.
Such multidisciplinary work has helped advance the hypothesis that infections, including SARS-CoV-2, can cause neurovascular disease, he said.
“SARS-CoV-2 encourages us to build even more bridges between infectious disease, cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease,” he said. “Considering our special fields separated by barriers is as unjustified as the false dichotomy between education and practice [philosopher John] Dewey criticized. The greatest intellectual discoveries occur in the intersections of the fields “.
There are parallels between the world today and 100 years ago when the AHA was formed, when a century ago countries were ravaged by rheumatic heart disease, caused by an infection, and today ravaged by COVID-19, he said. Elkind.
“This pandemic has reminded us that to improve health, we must also improve social conditions,” he said. “The disparities and inequities made manifest by the pandemic were clear before the virus struck. The AHA has worked to address the social determinants of health, because your zip code shouldn’t determine how long or how well you live. “
As a result, the AHA in 2018 began investing in community-based solutions to reduce social and economic barriers to health equity and funded 33 social entrepreneurs for that purpose, according to Elkind.
The AHA now plans to take action to end structural racism and its health impact, in accordance with its recently issued presidential notice, it said.
“In an age of expanding globalization and travel around the world, we still lack sufficient communication and cooperation,” he said.
Each of us must imagine that our area of specialized knowledge coexists with other areas, “producing a more coherent and focused whole,” Elkind said. “To improve cardiovascular health, we have many bridges to build between medical disciplines and others that we need to strengthen, such as the links that connect the scientific and medical community to our leaders, the public and all countries.”
American Heart Association
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