WORLD HEART FEDERATION APPOINTS SIDNEY C SMITH JR AS PRESIDENT ELECT AND SUSANNE VOLQVARTZ AS VICE PRESIDENT ELECT FROM JANUARY 2010
WORLD HEART FEDERATION APPOINTS SIDNEY C SMITH JR AS PRESIDENT ELECT AND SUSANNE VOLQVARTZ AS VICE PRESIDENT ELECT FROM JANUARY 2010
(World Congress of Cardiology, Buenos Aires, 21st May 2008): Sidney C Smith Jr, M.D. Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Science and Medicine at the University of North Carolina, and Susanne Volqvartz, CEO of the Danish Heart Foundation have been appointed President Elect and Vice President Elect respectively of the World Heart Federation, to take up their roles from January 2010. Professor Pekka Puska, Director General of the National Public Health Institute of Finland, and Dr Lyn Roberts, CEO of the National Heart Foundation of Australia will become President and Vice President respectively of the World Heart Federation from January 2009.
The World Heart Federation is a nongovernmental organization dedicated to the global prevention and control of heart disease and stroke, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.
Professor Smith became a member of the Board of the World Heart Federation in 2003 after being appointed Chairman of the World Heart and Stroke Forum in 2002. In 2005 he became Chairman of the World Heart Federation Scientific Advisory Board. Dr Smith received his M.D. from Yale University and completed a residency in internal medicine and fellowship in cardiology at Harvard Medical School/Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Smith has been involved with the American Heart Association for the past two decades, serving as president from 1995-1996 and Chief Science Officer from 2001-2003. In addition to his academic role in Cardiology at the University of North Carolina, Dr. Smith serves as Chair of the American College of Cardiology/ American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and for the past 15 years has provided leadership in the development of national and international guidelines especially in the area of prevention strategies for cardiovascular disease.
He has recently been selected to serve as Chair of the Executive Committee for the new National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health’s Integrated Guidelines for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. He is the author of more than 300 publications and serves on the editorial boards of many journals including Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Among his many honours include the Distinguished National Leadership Award and Gold Heart Award, both from the American Heart Association, and the Award of Special Recognition from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
“I am honoured by this appointment and will do my best to see that the mission and goals of the World Heart Federation and its member societies and foundations are advanced,” said Dr. Smith. “Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and frequently leaves patients who survive with major limitations and disability. By working together using treatment strategies already available and emphasizing the importance of healthy lifestyles I am confident that we can make a difference.”
Susanne Volqvartz was appointed Vice President Elect of the World Heart Federation, also taking office in January 2010. Susanne has managed the Danish Heart Foundation for the past seven years, now the second largest disease-combating and patient representing organisation in the country. She was also President of the European Heart Network between 2002 and 2006 and previously CEO of the Danish Working Environment Fund where she advocated public health through improvements in working environments.
Professor Puska, a former member of the Finnish parliament who has an MD and M Pol Sc as well as a PhD in epidemiology, will succeed Professor Shahryar Sheikh when he stands down as President of the World Heart Federation at the end of his term of office.
Professor Puska brings considerable experience of working in public health policy. He helped develop Finland’s health system, widely recognized as a role model in terms of healthcare resource allocation and management. He has focused on the prevention of cardiovascular disease for over 25 years, including as Director for Non-communicable Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the World Health Organization from 2001-2003. In 2006 he stood as a candidate to become Director-General of the WHO.
“I am hugely honoured to accept the position of President of the World Heart Federation,” commented Dr Puska. “My background is in the prevention of cardiovascular disease with much of my work in the field of public health. So I believe I will be a good fit with the World Heart Federation which is now a major player in global public heart health, in particular for low- and middle-income countries.
“The focus for my term will be to continue upgrading heart health on the global health agenda, especially as CVD is an increasing burden with human and economic costs in most of the world. This is coupled with the disproportionate lack of attention, resources and interest given to this disease versus other more high-profile health issues. I also plan to continue the great work the World Heart Federation has been doing in advocacy, establishing major practical projects to combat the disease, plus in developing its partnerships and growing leadership role in global heart health.”
Professor Puska, a former President of the Finnish Heart Association, was also Director and Principal Investigator of the North Karelia Project, an internationally recognized model for successful population-based prevention of cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases. He achieved an 80% decline in annual heart disease mortality among the working age population in this region.
Dr Lyn Roberts has been CEO of the National Heart Foundation of Australia since 2001. She has developed national cardiovascular health programmes in Australia, been extensively involved with cancer prevention programmes and is regarded as an expert on tobacco control. Dr Roberts is also Chair of the Australian Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance and is a member of a number of expert advisory committees for government and non-governmental sectors including the Preventative Health Taskforce. Dr Roberts was elected to the Board of the World Heart Federation in 2006.
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About the World Heart Federation
The World Heart Federation is a nongovernmental organization based in Geneva Switzerland dedicated to the prevention and control of heart disease and stroke, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. It comprises 196 member societies of cardiology and heart foundations from over 100 countries covering the regions of Asia-Pacific, Europe, East Mediterranean, the Americas and Africa. For further information visit: www.worldheart.org
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