Heart Health
From the editors
Welcoming our new editor in chief
With this issue of the Harvard Heart Letter, Dr. Christopher Cannon, professor of medicine (cardiology) at Harvard Medical School, becomes editor in chief. He replaces Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt, who has been named director of Mt. Sinai Heart at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York City. I thank Dr. Bhatt for his skill and dedication in leading this publication over the past nine years and wish him success in his new role.
Dr. Cannon, a senior physician in the Preventive Cardiology section of the Cardiovascular Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has published extensively in the field of acute coronary syndromes and prevention. He has led more than 20 multicenter clinical trials, many of which have been highlighted in the Heart Letter. I am thrilled that Dr. Cannon is formally joining Harvard Health Publishing, following many years of his contributions to our content.
— Dr. Howard LeWine
Chief medical editor, Harvard Health Publishing
A preview of our March issue and beyond
I’m excited to start this new role and share my enthusiasm and optimism about recent and ongoing progress in the prevention and treatment of heart disease. In the prevention realm, recent research confirms that while walking 10,000 steps per day is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, smaller amounts can also help. Staying active is also important if you already have heart disease. When it comes to diet, we’ll be sharing the latest evidence about the connection between salt and heart health in our April issue.
By explaining the ins and outs of both newer and longstanding treatments for heart disease, we aim to give you the information you need to have educated conversations with your physician. I’m a firm believer in the importance of shared decision making between health care providers and patients.
In the past decade, a notable advance in treating diabetes and obesity (both major risk factors for heart disease) is the development of a new class of drugs based on naturally occurring gut hormones.
Cholesterol-lowering statins have long been a mainstay for people who have or are at high risk of coronary artery disease. But multiple new classes of medications are now available for lowering artery-clogging LDL cholesterol. In our April issue, you can learn about the latest cutting-edge therapy to lower LDL. Using the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR, scientists are testing a one-time injection to permanently shut down the production of an LDL-raising protein in the liver.
Harvard Heart Letter’s regular Q&A column will resume next month. If you have questions about heart disease or suggestions for topics you’d like to see us cover, please see the contact information below.
— Dr. Christopher Cannon
Editor in chief, Harvard Heart Letter
Send us a question for Ask the Doctor:
By mail: Harvard Heart Letter, 4th Floor, 4 Blackfan Circle, Boston, MA 02115
By email: heart_letter@hms.harvard.edu (Please write "Ask the doctor" in the subject line.)
About the Authors
Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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