Introduction
The ageing population in today's rich and developing countries is one reason for the enormous burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in modern societies. Even the most accomplished doctors do not have the power to turn back time; however, all of us have a stake in and better still, have the potential to positively influence the second major factor determining morbidity and mortality from CVD: the low implementation rates of life-style changes and pharmacotherapy among the population at risk.
It was thus highly appropriate that a symposium on the reduction of CVD was organized as part of the 2nd World Ageing and Generations Congress in St Gallen, Switzerland, on 28 September 2006. The focus of the symposium ‘Getting into the Healthy CV Success Zone’ was the reduction of CVD risk through the management and application of life-style changes, as well as appropriate pharmacotherapy, and the maintenance of this reduced risk in the long term.
The participants approached the problem from various angles, including not only medical research, patient care, and public health but also the views of the pharmaceutical industry and patient organizations. The wide range of experience and expertise among the contributors ensured particularly dynamic discussion and cross-stimulation of thoughts.
The contributions are collected in this issue of the European Heart Journal together with an invited editorial by Prof. R. Califf. We hope that the papers will interest and inspire fresh thinking among the journal's readers just as the speakers did in the session audience. The problems of reducing CVD may be much older than anyone practising medicine today, but the need for solutions is greater than ever.
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