Heart Rhythm Society

Heart Rhythm Society

Founded	1979
Founder	Dr. J. Warren Harthorne Dr. Victor Parsonnet Dr. Seymour Furman Dr. Dryden Morse
Location	1400 K Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC, 20005, United States
Area served	International
Members	5,100+
Key people	James H. Youngblood, CEO & Anne M. Gillis, MD, FHRS, President
Employees	50+
Website	hrsonline.org
Formerly called	North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (NASPE)

The Heart Rhythm Society is an international non-profit organization that promotes education and advocacy for cardiac arrhythmia professionals and patients. The society was founded in 1979 and counted 5,100 members from over 70 countries as of January 2009. The official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society is Heart Rhythm, which provides readers scientific developments devoted to arrhythmias, devices, and cardiovascular electrophysiology. The Heart Rhythm Society is headquartered in Washington, DC, US.

Awareness campaigns

Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month

The Heart Rhythm Society, through its efforts during Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month in September and throughout the year, is working to increase public knowledge about atrial fibrillation, including its symptoms, warning signs, and treatments.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month represents an initiative by the Heart Rhythm Society to raise awareness and help the public become more familiar with sudden cardiac arrest, how it affects people, and what can be done to help save lives.

The society's award-winning "Apples and Oranges" campaign uses a simple analogy to educate people about the difference between a heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest. The campaign targets heart attack survivors, who are at the highest risk for sudden cardiac arrest, and stresses the importance of maintaining a healthy heart lifestyle and learning critical risk markers, especially their ejection fraction, which is the percentage of blood pumped out of the left ventricle with each heartbeat.

Arrest the Risk awareness campaign

In October 2012, the Heart Rhythm Society launched a multi-year, national awareness campaign, "Arrest the Risk", in an effort to elevate the issue of preventing sudden cardiac arrest, early intervention, and appropriate treatment among the African-American and Hispanic populations; increase awareness of disparities at the point of care; and reduce mortality and re-hospitalization rates from sudden cardiac arrest in the US.

Activities

The Heart Rhythm Society's government advocacy efforts center on operating as an intermediary between regulatory agencies and its members. The society promotes programs to take action regarding legislation, creates and endorses clinical guidelines, and helps its members find funding opportunities from government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health.

The society also provides several educational initiatives including courses held throughout the year, certification and continuing medical education programs and an annual conference, called Scientific Sessions.

Presidents

Presidents of the Heart Rhythm Society from inception are listed below. The leadership cycle is five years, with service as president being in the fourth year. This allows the society to project presidents three years in advance. Anne M. Gillis, whose election to the presidency for the 2012-13 term was revealed at the May 2009 meeting of the society, was the second non-American to serve in that capacity. The first non-American president was Bernard S. Goldman in 1982; the second was Anne M. Gillis (both are Canadian).

• J. Warren Harthorne, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1979-1981
• Seymour Furman, MD, CCDS 1981-1982
• Bernard S. Goldman, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1982-1983
• Robert G. Hauser, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1983-1984
• Albert L. Waldo, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1984-1985
• Jerry C. Griffin, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1985-1986
• Paul C. Gillette, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1986-1987
• Michael Bilitch, MD 1987
• Doris J. W. Escher, MD, FHRS 1988
• Melvin M. Scheinman, MD, FHRS 1988-1989
• Douglas P. Zipes, MD, FHRS 1989-1990
• Victor Parsonnet, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1990-1991
• James D. Maloney, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1991-1992
• Gerald C. Timmis, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1992-1993
• David G. Benditt, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1993-1994
• Nora Goldschlager, MD, FHRS 1994-1995
• Ralph Lazzara, MD, FHRS 1995-1996
• John D. Fisher, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1996-1997
• Sanjeev Saksena, MBBS, MD, FHRS 1997-1998
• David L. Hayes, MD, FHRS, CCDS 1998-1999
• Gerald V. Naccarelli, MD, FHRS 1999-2000
• David S. Cannom, MD, FHRS 2000-2001
• Eric N. Prystowsky, MD, FHRS 2001-2002
• Mark H. Schoenfeld, MD, FHRS, CCDS 2002-2003
• Michael E. Cain, MD 2003-2004
• Stephen C. Hammill, MD, FHRS 2004-2005
• Anne B. Curtis, MD, FHRS, CCDS 2005-2006
• Dwight W. Reynolds, MD, FHRS 2006-2007
• Bruce D. Lindsay, MD, FHRS, CCDS 2007-2008
• N. A. Mark Estes III, MD, FHRS, CCDS 2008-2009
• Richard L. Page, MD, FHRS 2009-2010
• Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS 2010-2011
• Bruce L. Wilkoff, MD, FHRS, CCDS 2011-2012
• Anne M. Gillis, BSc, MD, FRCPC 2012-13
• Hugh Calkins, MD, FHRS, CCDS 2013-2014
• Richard I. Fogel, MD, FHRS 2014-2015
• John D. Day, MD, FHRS 2015-2016
• Michael R. Gold, MD, PhD, FHRS 2016-2017
• George F. Van Hare, MD, FHRS, CCDS, CEPS-P 2017-2018
• Thomas F. Deering, MD, FHRS 2018-2019
• Andrea M. Russo, MD, FHRS 2019-2020

External links

• Heart Rhythm Society Web site
• a healthfinder article about the Heart Rhythm Society
• National Guidelines Clearinghouse
• The Official Journal of the Heart Rhythm Society
• HRS Scientific Sessions Recordings