Progress in Cardiovascular NURSING Fall 2003 194 T he challenges with regard to the prevention and man- agement of cardiovascular disease are very similar worldwide. Cardiovascular disease is and will remain a major challenge for health-care professionals and health- care systems and contributes significantly to the global burden of disease both in developed and developing countries. 1 Cardiovascular nurses (CVNs), an integral part of an interdisciplinary health-care team, are committed to developing state-of-the-art services to optimize out- comes for populations with cardiovascular risk factors or cardiovascular disease. Realization of this goal is informed and guided by research findings, educational initiatives, policy statements, and everyday clinical prac- tice all acting in a continuous interplay. Vision, guidance, and support is also provided by professional organiza- tions such as the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and the European Society of Cardiology’s (ESC) Working Group on Cardiovascular Nursing, among others. Both organiza- tions target CVNs working in clinical practice, nursing education, research settings, or policy formulation (or a combination). Both organizations have developed a num- ber of methods over the years, including educational pro- grams, research projects, policy statements, and mentor- ing programs to achieve their strategic goals. The goal of this column is to inform international CVN colleagues, patients, and other clinicians about the formal collabora- tion between the AHA’s Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and the ESC’s Working Group on Cardiovascular Nursing, which started in 2002 after a number of years of successful informal collaboration that demonstrated the added value and strategic advantage of “building bridges” across the Atlantic with regard to CVN. THE AHA COUNCIL ON CARDIOVASCULAR NURSING The Council on Cardiovascular Nursing is one of 13 councils of the AHA. The primary mission of the Council, as reaffirmed at the 2002 Leadership Retreat, is to support the AHA mission to reduce death and dis- ability from cardiovascular disease and stroke. In addi- tion, the Council identifies and articulates areas in which nurses can lead in the accomplishment of the mission and goals of AHA. Specific goals and corre- sponding activities, defined at the 2002 Retreat include: • Conduct research and develop knowledge related to the prevention of and biobehavioral adaptation to heart disease and stroke • Increase utilization of cardiovascular research findings through dissemination • Ongoing and planned activities designed to achieve these science-related goals, including initiation and participation in the development and publication of AHA scientific statements, advisories, practice guide- lines, and conferences. (Collaboration with colleagues from other AHA Councils and relevant national and international [i.e., ESC Working Group] nursing and From the Institute of Nursing Science, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 1 Department of Adult and Elder Health Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; 2 Department of Physiological Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA; 3 Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Rush University, Chicago, IL; 4 Steinhardt School of Education, Division of Nursing, New York University, New York, NY; 5 Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Groningen, Groningen, Holland; 6 and Department of Cardiology, Linköping Heart Center, University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden 7 Address for correspondence: Sabina De Geest, Institute of Nursing Science, University of Basel, Bernoulli Strasse 28, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland E-mail: sabina.degeest@unibas.ch International Perspectives on CV Nursing Sabina De Geest, PhD, RN, Section Editor Building Bridges: The American Heart Association–European Society of Cardiology’s International Nursing Collaboration Sabina De Geest, PhD, RN; 1 Sandra Dunbar, RN, DSN; 2 Erika Froelicher, PhD, RN; 3 Kathleen Grady, PhD, RN; 4 Laura Hayman, PhD, RN; 5 Tiny Jaarsma, PhD, RN; 6 Anna Strömberg, PhD, RN 7 www.lejacq.com ID: 2891