The Canadian Atherosclerosis Society--history and present status

Since its inception in 1983 the Canadian Atherosclerosis Society (CAS) has established itself firmly on the national and international scene as a forceful scientific voice. Its presence and activities have had their dominant expression at annual meetings held jointly with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation (CSCI) and in sponsoring other scientific and educational events, the most important of which was the Canadian Consensus Conference on Cholesterol (Ottawa, March 1988). It provided a forum for interaction between the scientific community, government, funding agencies, industry and the general public, and culminated in concrete recommendations for the populace of Canada. It also 'induced' a continuum in governmental and public concern for health with respect to atherosclerosis, and beyond it, the field of cardiovascular diseases. This dialogue continues. As a member (Constituent Society) of the International Atherosclerosis Society (IAS), the CAS has a voice in the international community, its policies and activities. The membership increase from 69 in 1983 to 175 in 1991 reflects steady growth of the CAS. The Society has been active in other areas (publications, awards for young investigators, and common educational endeavours with other groups) and will be host to the 1994 International Symposium on Atherosclerosis. Over a short period of only eight years, all of the above attests to sufficient progress (or achievement) for any scientific society. And yet, there remain quite a few areas not addressed as yet and some sad experiences (eg, that with the Long Term Planning Committee) that must be quickly remedied, if the Society is to keep pace with the everchanging emphasis in research that in the final analysis aims at improving the overall well-being and health of all Canadians. Inherent in the definition of history is the premise that accounts be provided of facts only. Historians who research their subjects derive these facts from studying the necessary accounts relating to these 'facts', using different and preferably controversial resources, so as to present the facts as objectively as possible. It is impossible, however, to fulfill all the above criteria for a historian who lived through every phase of 'life' of the subject of his or her account, because no matter how objective one wishes to remain (and bends backwards to achieve this) there will be always an element of a personal prism through which the historian lived the 'life' with his subject. For being human and thus unable to eliminate entirely that personal component, this writer asks humbly for the reader's understanding.