American Heart Association
The American Heart Association grew out of a set of smaller precursor groups. The primary precursor was the Association for the Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease, formed in New York City in 1915, to study whether patients with heart disease could safely return to work. Several similar organizations formed or evolved in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago in the 1920s. Recognizing the need for a national organization to share research and promote findings, the American Heart Association was formed in 1924 by six cardiologists representing several of these precursor groups.
The American Heart Institute
In February 1998 Marinos C. Soteriou (University of Cologne & Vanderbilt University) along with Christos Christou (Fairleigh Dickinson University, Seton Hall University & St. George's University) had an idea to return to Cyprus and start offering comprehensive care in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac diseases. With the support of an international health-care team, they founded the American Heart Institute in Nicosia and began work in July 1999. The presence of the American Medical Center in the Mediterranean contributes substantially in raising the standards of care in cardiology and cardiac surgery in the area.