[Applied cardiological research. Challenges for the new millenium].

Poor eating habits, a sedentary life style, and smoking have made acute coronary syndrome a disease characteristic of modern life. Although the widespread appearance of coronary heart disease has been delayed by 10 years, it is expected to be the primary cause of death in the world by the year 2020, in spite of the development of reperfusion therapy and the use of defibrillators. The incidence of coronary heart disease is spreading to more depressed areas and affecting an increasingly larger number of persons over 70, who are generally poorly represented in clinical studies and respond less favorably to treatment. Detaining the advance of this epidemic demands the development of a competitive research policy that includes rigorous training of researchers and scientific programs based on cooperation and teamwork. The success of this scientific strategy rests on public and private fund-raising to finance the anticipated priority areas of cardiovascular research in the coming years: vascular immunobiology, genome studies, tissue transplantation, and organogenesis. Advances in research complemented by the implementation of preventive measures based on a unified scientific approach and community educational campaigns could act effectively against the spread of cardiovascular disease in the world, thus avoiding otherwise inevitable social and economic consequences.