Featured Online Programs
Open Access Journals
Given the prevalence of heart disease, new research is published every day, but usually in pricy subscription-based journals. Below you will find journals that don’t charge you to read their articles, but still manage to publish respectable, high-impact heart disease research.
BMC Cardiovascular Disorders
Publisher: BioMed Central
If you are already engrossed in the science behind healthy heart functioning and cardiovascular disease, this journal is a free and useful addition, publishing relevant studies related to heart and circulatory problems.
JRSM Cardiovascular Disease
Publisher: Sage Journals
A peer-reviewed, online journal dedicated to pathology, epidemiology and treatment for all aspects of cardiovascular disease.
Open Heart
Publisher: BMJ
This online-only, open-access journal is co-published by BMJ and the British Cardiovascular Society with articles covering important developments in cardiovascular therapies.
Journal of the American Heart Association
Publisher: Springer
This new journal is published by the most reputable heart health organization in the United States. Its articles are all freely available and cover the biological workings of the cardiovascular system that lead to heart attacks and strokes.
OpenCourseWare
The heart is an amazing human organ. Understanding how it works and what can go wrong is no easy undertaking. But these free course materials from the nation’s top universities should get you started.
Rural Hypertension in China
This fascinating lecture from 2010 examines the dangerous spike in hypertension, stroke, and cardiovascular disease in China emerging along with the country’s economic development.
Cardiovascular Pathophysiology
This free course material from Tufts can help you deepen your understanding of common cardiovascular diseases.
A Love-Hate Relationship: Cholesterol in Health and Disease
Few things are as closely associated with heart attacks as cholesterol, but it’s not so simple. These course materials from MIT will put you well on your way to understanding the complex relationship between this unpopular molecule and heart health.
Research Organizations
Despite great improvements in treatment over the past decades, heart disease is still the most common cause of death around the world. The major research organizations below are dedicated to the substantial work that still needs to be done.
Centers for Disease Control: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
With a 2011 budget of roughly 50 million, the CDC DHDSP gathers data and conducts research to reduce fatalities from heart attack and stroke across the U.S.
NIH: National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute
With a 2014 budget of well over three billion dollars, this government organization funds heart disease research throughout the U.S.
Cardiovascular Research Network
Through Funding from the NIH: National Health, Blood, and Lung Institute, this network of 14 research centers across the United States aims to compile the largest collection of clinical heart disease surveillance data available to date.
Cardiovascular Research Foundation
Through its research and clinical trials centers, this nonprofit has been researching improvements to heart disease treatment since 1981.
Professional Organizations
Given the sheer number and range of people affected by heart disease, most healthcare professionals will encounter this disease regularly throughout their careers. These organizations are dedicated to supporting the doctors, nurses, and scientists who battle heart disease often or even everyday.
Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
Nurses are often the first to identify risks factors for cardiovascular disease among their patients. With around 20 local chapters, the PCNA works to help nurses through education, networking, and seminars.
American College of Cardiology
With local chapters throughout the United States the ACC provides continuing education and network opportunities to all health professionals caring for patients with heart disease.
American Society of Nuclear Cardiology
This organization of over 4,500 members worldwide focuses on improving the education and professionalism of cardiovascular imaging specialists.
American Society for Preventive Cardiology
The ASPC aspires to represent a multidisciplinary group of professionals, including doctors, researchers, and nurses, dedicated to preventing cardiovascular disease.
American Society of Hypertension
The largest professional organization of hypertension, or high blood pressure, researchers across the United States, the ASH publishes a journal, conducts research, and sponsors continuing education programs.
Public Awareness Organizations
Heart attack and stroke are the two leading causes of death in the United States, but they are also two of the most preventable. These advocacy organizations work to educate and change lifestyles, saving millions of lives in the process.
WomenHeart
Because men are more likely to suffer from heart disease, the 42 million American women with the condition are often overlooked. This organization raises awareness and helps these women with their plight.
Million Hearts
This national initiative by the Department of Health and Human Services aims to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes by 2017, the two leading causes of death in America.
World Heart Federation
Working toward the World Health Organization goal of reducing the worldwide cardiovascular disease mortality rate by 25% by 2025, the World Heart Federation focuses its advocacy on improving policy in low- and middle-income countries.
American Heart Association
Founded in 1924, the American Heart Association has 144 local offices, over 2,700 employees, and millions of volunteers working to reduce heart disease and stroke.
