Introduction

Transforming Care, Inspiring Innovation, Building Community

In 1949, 13 cardiologists led by Franz Groedel, MD, MACC, and Bruno Kisch, MD, MACC, founded the ACC, creating a professional home for cardiovascular clinicians seeking the latest science, research and cutting-edge education. Fast forward 75 years later and the College has evolved into a global cardiovascular leader, uniting more than 56,000 members spanning the entire cardiovascular care team around the shared Mission of transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for all.

Board of Trustees 2023 – 2024

As we embark on our 75th Anniversary, it's important that we look back on the many examples of men and women whose vision, leadership and commitment to patient-centered care have helped address the challenges of the day and make real differences in the lives of people living with, or at risk of, heart disease. Their contributions to science, their quest for knowledge and their belief in the power of innovation have continued to optimize the care and outcomes of patients around the world, while also leaving an indelible impact on the College and its growth and evolution.

In the last decade alone, we have made great strides in transforming care delivery, delivering actionable knowledge, maintaining organizational sustainability and being the professional home for the global cardiovascular care team.

In 2023, we continued to build on these efforts, working diligently to enhance membership value and engagement among all members. Key projects like the Sandra J. Lewis Mid-Career Women's Leadership Development Program, the ACC Leadership Academy, the Emerging Faculty Program and the Clinical Trial Research Program continue to diversify and cultivate new and emerging leaders.

Determining the needs of the Member of the Future are also part of our "professional home" efforts, with initiatives like the Internal Medicine Cardiology Program and Young Scholars Program continuing to evolve and expand. Similarly, the Hani Najm Global Scholar Award and the William A. Zoghbi International Research Award offer important opportunities to accelerate our global reach and support much-needed research in low- and middle-income countries.

Addressing clinician well-being; driving cultural change across the profession through diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; and solving for the workforce crisis continue to be key components of the College's work to transform care delivery. We are also proud of our work to enhance our NCDR registries to ensure hospitals, health systems and other facilities are best able to harness the power of their data.

The ACC has also spent the last five years working with the American Heart Association to optimize all aspects of clinical guideline development and implementation in order to best provide actionable knowledge. Our 10 JACC Journals, along with valuable digital initiatives like NCD Academy, the ACC Anywhere video library, the Collaborative Maintenance Pathway (CMP), and hybrid and virtual courses also contribute to our actionable knowledge efforts.

On the innovation front, we continue to make progress in our efforts to develop a patient-centered roadmap for integrating new treatments and technologies, like telehealth, artificial intelligence and remote patient monitoring, into the care delivery process.

Last, but certainly not least, ensuring organizational growth and sustainability has been a constant part of the College's strategic planning work. In the last five years, digital transformation has been among the biggest efforts, given the many different ways that advances in technology are continuously changing how clinicians engage with the College as members and customers.

As such, the College has spent the last several years tackling internal process and system improvements that will drive more efficient operations, enhance member service and transform the curation, management and delivery of clinical tools and guidance to the ACC members around the world.

It's fitting that the College is launching its next five-year Strategic Plan at the same time it's celebrating its 75th Anniversary milestone. The work on so many of the initiatives and programs highlighted in the next many pages will undoubtedly continue, with new initiatives like the creation of a new, independent, cardiovascular board of medicine emerging into the spotlight. This is a lot, but we're up for the challenge and our continued collaboration and partnership will be key as we move from vision to reality. Together, we will realize our full potential and ensure a legacy that lasts for another 75 years and beyond.