ISHIB2006

CELEBRATING HEALTH, REDUCING DISEASE: A 20-YEAR HISTORY TO IMPROVE LIFE EXPECTANCY AMONG ETHNIC MINORITY POPULATIONS

In this 20th anniversary year, ISHIB celebrates a rich history that began in 1986 and has been punctuated with a dedicated Society membership and an energy to make the future healthy for all populations. ISHIB's vitality in today's medical arena and the community has been fueled by research initiatives and programs designed to provide answers to eliminating cardiovascular health disparities among ethnic minority populations.

Historical Perspective: Founding Fathers
In 1986, ISHIB's founders, Drs. Elijah Saunders, Neil Shulman, and Dallas Hall, called for action to respond to the high rates of hypertension among Blacks. Together, the founding fathers authored a book, Hypertension in Blacks: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, and Treatment which propelled ISHIB to the development of its visions, goals, and objectives. The formation and charter of ISHIB took place on November 10, 1986 and the new organization set out to: 1) stimulate research; 2) reduce hypertension among African Americans; and 3) reach those most at-risk of high blood pressure.

The Early Years: An International Conference Is Born
Throughout its 20-year history, ISHIB has sponsored an annual gathering of medical experts to discuss, explain, and provide solutions related to the causal patterns of cardiovascular disease among ethnic minority populations and to discover new approaches to improve the cardiovascular health of minorities. The timeline below offers a glimpse of the broad scope of conference programming and the geographic reach the conference has enjoyed over the years.

1986. April 3-5. First International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks.
Epidemiology, Pathophysiology and Treatment. Atlanta, Georgia USA
1987. March 5-7. Second International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks.
Atlanta, Georgia USA
1988. April 21-24. Third International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks.
Baltimore, Maryland USA
1989. Fourth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks. Special Sessions: Etiology, Epidemiology and Treatment Comparing Negroids, Mongoloids, and Caucasians. Nairobi, Kenya
1990. May 3-7. Fifth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks: A Focus on Ethnicity: Negroids, Caucasoids, and Mongoloids. Long Beach, California USA
1991. August 1-5. Sixth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks. Health and Disease in Multicultural Societies: A Focus on Miscegenation. Salvador, Brazil
1992. May 26-31. Seventh International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks. Clinical Trials in Minority Populations. Atlanta, Georgia USA
1993. April 7-10. Eighth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks held in conjunction with the Fifth Congress of the Pan-African Society of Cardiology. Yaounde, Cameroon, Africa
1994. June 22-26. Ninth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks. Vision for the 21st Century: Health Promotion and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. Cleveland, Ohio USA
1995. June 21-25. Tenth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks. St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands USA
1996. July 14-17. Eleventh International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks. Hypertension in the African Diaspora: A Puzzle Waiting to Be Solved. New Orleans, Louisiana USA
1997. July 20-24. Twelfth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks. Target Organ Damage: The Next Frontier in Hypertension. London, England
1998. July 12-15. Thirteenth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks. Metabolic Risk Factors and Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease. Charleston, South Carolina USA
1999. July 10-14. Fourteenth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB99). Ethnicity and Cardiovascular Disease: Closing the Gap in the Next Millennium. Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2000. July 15-18, 2000. Fifteenth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB2000). Improving Outcomes through Comprehensive Care of Patients with Hypertension and Related Risk Factors. Las Croabas, Puerto Rico USA
2001. July 7-12. Sixteenth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB2001). Improving Cardiovascular and Renal outcomes: Maximizing Drug Therapy. Las Vegas, Nevada USA
2002. June 8-12, 2002. Seventeenth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB2002). Reversing the Cardiovascular Disease Epidemic Among Ethnic Minority Populations: Translating Strategies into Success. Miami, Florida USA
2003. June 22-25, 2003. Eighteenth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB2003). World Congress on Cardiovascular Health: Preventing the Global Pandemic in Developing Countries. Accra, Ghana. Conference cancelled due to global unrest and travel safety.
2004. June 13-16. Nineteenth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB2004). Disparities in Cardiovascular Health: Bridging the Great Divide. Detroit, Michigan USA
2005. July 15-18. Twentieth International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB2005). Hypertension and Related Diseases: Control and Prevention in Ethnic Populations Across the Lifespan. San Juan, Puerto Rico USA

International and Domestic Research Programs
To continue the work begun during the annual conferences, ISHIB has supported ongoing scientific meetings on local and regional levels throughout the year. Meeting programs such as "Cardiovascular Disease: A Unified Model, Treating the Urban Ethnic Patient," "Summit on the Use of ACE Inhibitors in African American Hypertensives," and the "Role of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System in Hypertension and Target Organ Injury in African Americans" are just a few examples of scientific meetings hosted by ISHIB. Programs for 2006 include: ISHIB2006: 21st International Interdisciplinary Conference on Hypertension and Related Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Ethnic Minority Populations; ISHIB Partners Summit; ASH/ISHIB Hypertension in the African American Population; Hypertension Guidelines; and Regional Symposia.

Publisher of Critical Research for Improving the Health of Ethnic Populations
In 1991, ISHIB produced and distributed Volume 1 of Ethnicity & Disease, a medical journal that today continues as an international journal that exclusively publishes information on the causal relationships in the etiology of common illnesses thorough the study of ethnic patterns of disease. Now in its 16th volume year, Ethnicity & Disease has developed an international reputation and has contributed more than 1,500 original reports to the scientific community. In addition, beginning in the volume 12 year, 17 supplements on timely, targeted topics have been published to accompany the quarterly issues. Journal articles, indexed by several scientific databases, are available through MEDLINE, the nation's top medical research search engine sponsored by the National Library of Medicine.

Serial Publications to Advance Medical Approaches to Cardiovascular Health
In addition to Ethnicity & Disease, ISHIB has published numerous monographs, newsletters, and position papers designed to equip practicing physicians and researchers with the latest approaches to the prevention, treatment, and control of hypertension and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Most notably, in 2004, ISHIB developed and produced the first-ever recommendations for doctors to use in blood pressure management among African Americans. Published in the March 10, 2005 edition of Archives of Internal Medicine, the guidelines, Management of High Blood Pressure in African Americans emphasized new approaches on: the use of drug therapy; blood pressure targets; and the treatment for those with other complications.

Clinical Trials and Scientific Findings
To achieve its goal to stimulate research to advance medical approaches for cardiovascular health, ISHIB has coordinated clinical trials and disseminated those findings globally through medical journals and general news outlets. For example, the CAB (Calcium Antagonist in Blacks) Trial focusing on the treatment of high blood pressure in African Americans, found comparable safety and efficacy among three medications commonly used to lower blood pressure in this group. The A-TIME study, also supported by ISHIB, examined the effect of quinapril in controlling blood pressure based on titration intervals of fast versus slow. The effects of the titration schedules were observed in persons with diabetes, various racial groups, and different age ranges.

New scientific research is also the hallmark of ISHIB's annual conference and, over the years more than 1,000 new research abstracts have been presented to the attending medical community as well as the international community through the dissemination of conference proceedings. Through these types of programs, ISHIB has become a leading venue for the display and exchange of new research between researchers and medical professionals.

Outreach Programs
While the main emphasis of the Society has been to provide resources and generate new research for the medical community, ISHIB has supported numerous outreach programs to the lay community. With the birth of its annual conferences, the ISHIB board of trustees recognized the need to include "heart healthy" programming for the local community hosting the conference. During the past 20 years, ISHIB members have reached the hearts and lives of residents in diverse communities including: Nairobi, Kenya; Salvador, Brazil; Atlanta, Georgia; London, England; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Toronto, Ottawa; and Charleston, South Carolina, to name a few. And, from the very first conference in Kenya, ISHIB supporters and members have been instrumental in developing programs addressing specific needs. Take, for example, the life-saving program begun by Herman Taylor, MD that brought more than 70 children from Africa and South America to the United States for heart surgery. Or, there's the "What's in a Doctor's Bag?" program by Neil Shulman, MD that has offered fun, informative health information to children in cities around the world. The concept for the international organization, WorldPlay, was conceived during the Kenya conference. Today, WorldPlay enjoys a compendium of projects designed to celebrate the ingenuity and creativity of children around the world.

Throughout each year, ISHIB has conducted health education programs for lay communities. Its Worship-Site High Blood Pressure program was initiated by B. Waine Kong, MD, CEO, of the Association of Black Cardiologists and takes place on the first Sunday in May. Broadcast, print, and electronic health education campaigns have supported this and other health programs for a variety of audiences. For a view of other major events during ISHIB's history, please visit "Other Milestones in ISHIB's History."

What makes ISHIB work?
The leaders of ISHIB recently reflected on what has made ISHIB successful through its 20 years. Their dedication to the mission of ISHIB can be easily counted as one of the key reasons for success.

"There are so many people worldwide who have made ISHIB such a unique organization. There's no other Society that reaches out to the community as ISHIB does and I'm glad I am a part of it."
----Neil Shulman, MD; co-founder, ISHIB.

"When we published, Hypertension in Blacks, we knew the next two decades would be critical to advance our understanding of the anatomic, physiologic and pharmacologic differences among populations and to turn that knowledge into solutions for improved cardiovascular outcomes. Now, 20 years later, we can see the impact ISHIB has made to fulfill this goal."
---Elijah Saunders, MD, FACC, FACP; co-founder, ISHIB.

"From the beginning, we sought to bring the research community and the practicing physician together to put research into everyday practice. From the convening of our very first conference in 1986, we have continually built programs to achieve this goal so that one day disparities in cardiovascular disease could be eliminated and all populations would have equitable health outcomes."
---W. Dallas Hall, MD, MACP; co-founder, ISHIB.

"ISHIB is a team effort. We have been fortunate to have the spirit, expertise, courage, and work of so many leaders concerned about good health for all. With the impetus of this leadership, we are hopeful that our messages and science on how to care for the heart have reached those who need it most: African Americans and others at high risk of cardiovascular disease."
---James W. Reed, MD, MACP, FACE; president, ISHIB: 1992 - 2004.

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