Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA)

To be eligible to apply for AHA Fellowship (FAHA):

1. Must be an active member at the Premium Professional or Premium Professional Plus level at the time the nomination is submitted.
2. Member dues must be up-to-date.
3. Must have been an AHA member for at least two years.

Applicant must be affiliated with the Council through which the application is submitted

1. Review the FAHA Track Criteria – Application Form – select the track you feel you best qualified for. Download and complete the FAHA Track Criteria Application Form.
2. If necessary, update your CV with any missing information.
3. Be prepared to document all volunteer activities to the AHA and to other medical organizations that support the AHA Mission. Volunteer service is heavily weighted in the scoring process.

Locate AHA Fellows by name or council in the Professional Volunteer Search Tool. To access the Volunteer Search Tool

1. Log into professional.heart.org with an active login.
2. Click on your Dashboard and choose Professional Volunteer Search Tool. Here you will be able search for a FAHA from a specific council.

International applicants will be required to complete the FAHA Track Criterial application form and the online application data the same as domestic applicants. Listed below are alternatives to meet the Volunteer Service and the Letter of Recommendation requirements.

Volunteer Service

International candidates may show evidence of volunteer involvement and service in the American Heart Association or similar Regional, national, or international scientific organizations. All volunteer activity must be documented on the application to be considered.

Some examples of service and volunteerism include, but are not limited to:

• Active, voluntary participation on committees, boards and task forces
• Development and fundraising
• Advocacy efforts
• Scientific or educational services, such as guideline/performance measure writing groups, abstract grading, and research grant peer review.

Letter of Recommendation

If the candidate does not have access to FAHA that knows their work, their letter of reference may be authored by the Chair or Academic Chair of their institution. A second Letter of reference may be submitted by an International Scientific Leader. Only one letter is required but international candidates may submit two if they do not have a FAHA that can verify their accomplishments.

CV

A CV template is available to download that shows what information is expected on the CV submitted with the application. It is highly recommended that candidates supplement their current CVs with any information listed on the CV Template that does not already show on their CV. It is not necessary to rebuild one’s CV. Pages with can be added at the back of the CV to provide missing information.

Note: Many candidates have not been elected FAHA in the past because their CVs and applications did not provide necessary information to be scored effectively.

• AHA Staff applying for FAHA status must meet the criteria with experience and service outside the scope of their position at the AHA. Any council and/or committee participation, support of AHA volunteer initiatives, AHA writing groups etc., that fall within the staff applicant’s job at the AHA will not be considered during scoring of FAHA applications.
• AHA Staff must be a paid AHA member for 1 year prior to submitting a FAHA application.

Candidates may be proposed by any active AHA Fellow or Emeritus Fellow (dues are up-to-date) who is well acquainted with the candidate's professional activities and volunteer involvement in the AHA or international society. To apply for AHA Fellowship please follow the procedures below:

1. From the All Council FAHA page, click on the link to the Council Awards System
2. Sign in with your Professional Heart Daily username and password
3. Once in the application, be sure to select your council from the drop down.
4. Complete all sections of the application (Using the Tips for Completing your FAHA application document will be helpful – download the document from the
5. Resource section of this page) Incomplete applications will not be scored.
6. Attach documentation as required. Applications that do not include the required documents will be considered incomplete and will not be scored:
   • An up-to-date curriculum vitae. (check against the CV Template – found in Resource section of this page)
   • A letter of recommendation from your proposer. (Considerations for Letter of Recommendation – found in Resource section on this page) The letter must be written on business letterhead, and be signed by the proposer; an electronic signature is acceptable.
   • Completed Areas of Excellence document (found in Resource section of this page)
   • Head and shoulder photograph that may be used to recognize newly elected Fellows in Connections, AHA journals and Professional Heart Daily website.

Fellowship applications are peer reviewed by the Nominating Committee during the spring and fall of each year. A slate containing the names of candidates that meet the eligibility requirements and criteria is presented to the Leadership Committee for election at its bi-annual meetings.

Newly elected Fellows will be recognized in the Connections Newsletter, via signage at the FAHA Lounge at Scientific Sessions, and for councils who have Council Dinners during the Scientific Sessions, new FAHAs will be recognized there. Newly elected FAHAs are strongly encouraged to attend this event.

No, applicants from all councils will be evaluated against the same criteria. The FAHA Track Criteria application form that can be found in the Resources section of the web page, should be downloaded and completed, then uploaded to the online application on the Council Awards System.

No, attending and/or presenting at AHA Scientific Sessions or other AHA sponsored conference may be considered as scholarly contributions but does not qualify as AHA volunteer service.

International applicants that do not have access to AHA volunteer opportunities may acquire their volunteer service through similar regional, national or international organizations/associations.

There is no fee to apply or maintain a FAHA status. However, those applying to become a FAHA must be at a Premium Professional membership tier at the time their application is submitted. If elected as a FAHA, members must remain at a Premium Professional tier to maintain their FAHA status.

If a FAHA’s membership tier drops below a Premium Professional tier or their membership expires, their FAHA status becomes inactive. Upon renewal or reinstatement at a Premium Professional membership tier their FAHA status will automatically be reinstated.

If you are a current FAHA and meet the qualifications to transition to an Emeritus status, yes, you will be transitioned into an Emeritus Fellow.

AHA staff that meet the qualifications may apply to become a FAHA. Please see the requirements for AHA Staff in Preparing your FAHA Application section.