The Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) is pleased to announce a call for our second round of applications to support COVID-19 projects. Our first application round in 2020 at the height of the pandemic resulted in a highly competitive process that resulted in the selection of 6 winners who presented their plans during our COVID-19 webinars earlier this year.

The ABC is proud to announce its partnership with HEARTLINE, a randomized, pragmatic, direct-to-participant digital trial sponsored by Johnson & Johnson in collaboration with Apple. The Heartline™ Study is a nationwide heart health research study designed to explore if the Heartline Study app on iPhone and heart health features on Apple Watch can enable earlier detection of an irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation (AFib), and potentially improve heart health outcomes, including reducing the risk of stroke.

If you’re 65 or older and interested in being a part of the study, visit Heartline.com to learn more and download the app to see if you’re eligible to enroll.

Black Americans are dying from COVID-19 at higher rates than others — but they are also getting vaccinated at lower rates

Washington, DC – Our nation has reached a grim milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic: over 400,000 Americans have died from complications of the coronavirus. Black Americans are 3.7 times as likely as white Americans to be hospitalized with COVID-19 and 2.8 times as likely to die.

Blacks and people of color are not inherently more susceptible to COVID-19 illness and mortality, however, existing structural racism contributes to the health disparities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, social determinants of health place many people of color at heightened risk for poor COVID-19 outcomes, including disparities in healthcare coverage and access; disproportionate representation in “essential” jobs that often carry greater virus-exposure risk; crowded housing conditions; and disparities in income, education and wealth.

The coronavirus infection represents a global pandemic, that by definition, affects all populations. However, history has taught us that a differential impact often exists and is tightly linked to socio-demographic factors. There are a lot of questions about COVID-19, and the impact is evolving every day. Therefore, it is essential that we remain educated about ongoing events.

Stay informed with the latest science and clinical aspects of the coronavirus infection, and find helpful resources including frequently asked questions (FAQ) for health care providers, patients, and the public developed and curated by the ABC’s COVID-19 FAQ Watch editors and community programs committee.

The ABC Clinical Research Network (ABC CRN), provides investigators from multiple specialities with unparalleled access to clinical studies of interest while offering industry “one-stop” access to multiple investigators that ascribe to the same standard of clinical trial conduct.

Comprised of investigators from a variety of therapeutic areas, the ABC CRN was developed to serve as a central “wheel hub” to identify and vet clinical trial opportunities, match investigators to trials of inerest, and provide some of the infrastructure support that physicians say would be beneficial.