Message from the Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Council Chair

The science of lifestyle and cardiometabolic health has profound implications for how we prevent, treat, and ultimately reverse cardiovascular disease and stroke — and sits at the heart of the American Heart Association’s mission to build a world of longer, healthier lives. I am deeply grateful for the strong scientific and community foundation built by those who led this Council before me and energized every day by the extraordinary work our members do to advance this field — and by the opportunity to help shape what comes next.

Our Council spans the full landscape of lifestyle and cardiometabolic science — the modifiable behaviors that shape cardiovascular risk across the lifespan, including nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and substance use, alongside the cardiometabolic conditions they influence, including obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia — unified by a shared commitment to advancing Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic health across diverse populations worldwide. Through the lens of Life’s Essential 8 and the CKM Health framework, our members are shaping how clinicians, researchers, and policymakers understand and address these challenges.

To drive the impact of our Council, we are focused on deepening our scientific leadership across American Heart Association flagship initiatives where our members’ expertise is most central; accelerating the translation of CKM Health science into clinical practice; and advancing evidence-based obesity care — one of the most rapidly evolving and consequential frontiers in clinical medicine. Across all this work, we will leverage our voice and partnerships within the American Heart Association and cultivate strategic alliances with leading professional societies in the US and internationally — amplifying our reach and ensuring our science shapes practice at every level.

None of this work is possible without you. Whether you are at the beginning of your training or at the height of a distinguished career — and everywhere in between — the Council offers meaningful ways to contribute: scientific statements, seminar proposals, mentorship, subcommittee service, and more. Fill out the Volunteer Form and bring your energy and ideas to this work — the science and the patients it serves will be better for it.

Jun Ma, MD, PhD, FAHA
Chair, Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health