AACC and CDC Partner to Improve Cardiovascular Disease Testing Around the World

WASHINGTON – AACC, a global scientific and medical professional organization dedicated to better health through laboratory medicine, is pleased to announce a new collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the CDC Foundation that aims to expand lipid testing in resource-limited countries. Improving access to this essential testing could help reduce the high worldwide mortality rate from cardiovascular disease by enabling patients to get treated for this condition earlier. 

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, with more than 75% of deaths from this condition occurring in low- and middle-income countries, according to CDC. Testing for lipids (such as cholesterol) is used to assess a person’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and plays a critical role in enabling clinicians to detect this condition early and to give patients timely, often life-saving treatment. However, the quality of lipid testing that patients can access in resource-limited countries varies greatly based on location. In these regions, well-equipped and well-organized laboratories oftentimes exist alongside those with out-of-date instruments and technicians who have not received the appropriate training in good laboratory practices—and certain remote areas do not have easy access to laboratory testing at all. 

This new AACC-CDC collaboration will help tackle this problem by improving the capacity of resource-limited countries to perform point-of-care lipid testing. Point-of-care testing is testing that can be conducted wherever the patient is, making it ideal for areas with no central laboratory. Working closely with national clinical chemistry societies in the Latin America and Caribbean and Asia-Pacific regions, the partnership will provide new, state of the art point-of-care lipid testing devices to remote sites in these regions and will then train and evaluate local lab professionals on the use of these devices.

“Laboratory professionals in resource-limited countries have a great need for training on newer laboratory techniques and technologies that can improve patient care and outcomes,” said AACC President Dr. David G. Grenache. “We at AACC look forward to working with both CDC and laboratory experts in these countries to help fill this gap and equip local laboratory professionals with the resources and skills they need to combat cardiovascular disease in their communities.” 

About AACC

Dedicated to achieving better health through laboratory medicine, AACC brings together more than 50,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and business leaders from around the world focused on clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, translational medicine, lab management, and other areas of progressing laboratory science. Since 1948, AACC has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing programs that advance scientific collaboration, knowledge, expertise, and innovation. For more information, visit www.aacc.org.