President's page: fighting terrorism: our role as physicians.

In the days immediately after the September 11 attacks on the U.S., we witnessed the ability of a country, its citizens, and its friends to pitch in during the most difficult of times. We all continue to be moved by acts of extraordinary heroism in New York City and Washington, D.C., and now in Afghanistan, where soldiers are risking their lives to defend our freedoms. There have been other contributions, too. Some have been celebrated, such as unprecedented cooperation among policymakers and donations of blood and funds. Others have received less attention—for example, private offerings of support and assistance, including quiet donations made by individual American College of Cardiology (ACC) members to the College for relief efforts, and physicians who consoled their frightened patients both during the attacks and later, when fears about anthrax were rampant. On September 11, no one suspected that they would be called upon, either by duty or conscience, to help alleviate the effects of such overwhelming tragedy. Since then, many people have taken on roles and responsibilities quite different from their expectations for themselves. We all will be doing more of that in the future.