April 18, 2019 – New ACC Guidelines

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Anchor lead: How have guidelines to prevent and manage cardiovascular disease changed? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Cardiovascular disease prevention guidelines have changed for the American College of Cardiology. Erin Michos, one author of the guidelines and a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins, says there’s a new emphasis.

Michos: They’re focused on social determinants of health, because it’s increasingly important that social inequalities are a key determinant of cardiovascular health. We can write all these guidelines, but if individuals don’t have safe places to exercise, healthy food sources, adequate health insurance, transportation to visits, if these social inequalities are not addressed it will be hard to implement the guidelines, and so that was really front and center of the guidelines, as well as we emphasized a team based approach to care.  :31

Michos notes that the team includes primary care physicians, nurses, occupational and physical therapists and nutritionists, all of whom bring an expertise that’s needed to complete an individualized plan. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.