The Israel Heart Society.

The Israel Heart Society (IHS, www.israel-heart.org.il) is a formal society of the Israel Medical Association (IMA), and acts as a formal representative of the cardiology community in Israel. The aims of our society are to augment the professional and scientific knowledge of therapy and prevention of heart diseases in Israel. The IHS is a formal member of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the World Heart Federation, and in close collaboration with the American College of Cardiology (ACC), as recognized by ACC Israeli Chapter. All IHS members are automatically ESC members, and Israeli cardiologists serve in senior positions within the ESC. The IHS was founded in November 26, 1952 in Haifa and currently has 676 active members. The IHS board consists of: President, President elect, past President, Secretary General, 4 board members representing middle, south, north, and Jerusalem provinces, and representatives of cardiothoracic surgery and pediatric cardiology. Currently, the IHS has 11 very active Working Groups all led by Chairmen and Secretaries: Interventional Cardiology, Intensive Cardiac Care, Electrophysiology and Pacing, Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Prevention, Cardiac Rehabilitation, Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac Imaging, Echocardiography, Cardiology in the Community, Heart Failure, Myocardial and Pericardial Diseases, Cardiovascular Pharmacology, and a committee for experimental cardiology and basic sciences. We are currently in the process of establishing a Working Group of young cardiologists (part of the ESC Cardiologists of Tomorrow project). The IHS is supported by several pharmaceutical and device companies as a formal industry round table of the IHS. The IHS is also supported by the Friends of the IHS (FIHS), which was founded in 2005 by Douglas P. Zipes and has many senior world-renowned cardiologists from USA and Canada. The aim of FIHS is to promote cardiovascular research in Israel and to collaborate with North American cardiologists.