News Release

ACC joins hospitals in Central, Eastern China to launch Valvular Heart Disease Program

Educational program will focus on the growing burden of valvular heart disease in underserved communities

Business Announcement

American College of Cardiology

WASHINGTON (July 25, 2017) --The American College of Cardiology (ACC), working with prominent hospitals in central and eastern China, is launching a series of educational forums for physicians on valvular heart disease prevention, diagnosis and management. The educational forums will address the growing burden of valvular heart disease in China, particularly for underserved patients that face barriers to health care services.

The trainings provide a comprehensive overview regarding the clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of the common manifestations of valvular heart disease and focus on the latest updates to international guidelines-based patient care. The forums will also seek to improve coordination between different health care specialists who may treat patients with indications of valvular heart disease, including internists, general cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. Valvular heart disease specialists from the ACC will join local Chinese speakers for lecture-style presentations and interactive discussions based on case studies.

The program, supported by Edwards Lifesciences Foundation's Every Heartbeat Matters initiative, aims to reach hundreds of health care professionals in Kunming, Yunnan Province; Wuhan, Hubei Province; and Fuzhou, Fujian Province and support their efforts to offer high-quality, readily accessible care for patients from underserved communities that may be at risk for developing valvular heart disease. In addition to the educational forums for clinicians, ACC presenters will be distributing patient education materials for each hospital to use with patients to ensure they have the latest information regarding risk factors and lifestyle modification strategies for valvular heart disease.

"We are committed to working with our colleagues in China to implement this program in a way that achieves maximum impact for underserved patients in these areas and furthers the ACC's mission to prevent cardiovascular disease and improve patient care on a global scale," said Mary Norine Walsh, MD, FACC, president of the American College of Cardiology. "By directly working with clinicians where they live and practice, we are aiming to change the culture around treating and preventing heart disease in China."

"We have identified China as one of our focus regions for Every Heartbeat Matters because of the many underserved people suffering from heart valve disease in this country," said Amanda C. Fowler, Executive Director, Global Corporate Giving for Edwards Lifesciences and Edwards Lifesciences Foundation. "By partnering with the ACC to provide expert clinical education, we believe we can exponentially increase our impact on patients and build-up sustainable high-quality care for the people of this region."

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About The American College of Cardiology

The American College of Cardiology is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College and its more than 52,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more, visit acc.org.

About Edwards Lifesciences Foundation and Every Heartbeat Matters

Edwards Lifesciences Foundation focuses on supporting underserved heart valve and critically ill patients, as well as strengthening the communities in which Edwards employees live and work through gifts to non-profit organizations all around the world. The foundation's signature charitable initiative, Every Heartbeat Matters, has a specific pursuit of impacting the global burden of heart valve disease by supporting the education, screening and treatment of one million underserved people by 2020. Additional information can be found at http://www.everyheartbeatmatters.org.


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