American Heart Association Acquires Cardiometabolic Center Alliance to Transform Integrated Care

The American Heart Association has acquired program assets of the Cardiometabolic Center Alliance collaborative, marking a significant step toward establishing integrated care that holistically manages cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic health. This strategic move combines the resources and expertise of both organizations to address the growing need for comprehensive care approaches for patients with interconnected conditions.

The CMCA, founded by Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri, under the medical direction of Dr. Mikhail Kosiborod, began as an initiative to reshape cardiometabolic care through the Saint Luke's Michael and Marlys Haverty Cardiometabolic Center of Excellence. The alliance developed and implemented a novel approach that treats Type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, and related cardiovascular conditions together rather than addressing them separately, providing team-based, comprehensive care tailored to individual patients.

Melissa Magwire, RN, MSN, CDCES, program director of the CMCA, noted the increasing demand to expand their collaborative team-based care model since the alliance's launch in 2020. "By working with the American Heart Association, we now have the opportunity to expand and scale these efforts, enabling us to help even more people live longer, healthier lives," Magwire stated. The CMCA membership includes clinical protocols, materials, program support for 22 cardiometabolic centers, and a five-year longitudinal dataset of patient-level cardiometabolic data, all of which will now be managed by the Heart Association.

Dr. Mariell Jessup, Chief Science & Medical Officer of the American Heart Association, emphasized the significance of this collaboration, calling it "a rare opportunity to optimize the synergy between the two organizations and combine efforts and resources for greater impact." The acquisition will enhance the Heart Association's development of a Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Center of Excellence certification program, building on the proven success of the CMCA model that has demonstrated statistically significant improvements in quality of care and clinical outcomes at member sites.

This integration matters because it addresses a critical gap in healthcare delivery where cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic conditions are often treated in isolation despite their interconnected nature. The combined resources could lead to more widespread adoption of patient-centered, team-based care models that have shown substantial increases in optimal guideline-directed medical therapy rates over national averages. For patients living with multiple chronic conditions, this approach promises more coordinated care that addresses their complete health profile rather than individual symptoms or diseases separately. The transition of CMCA leadership to committee and staff roles at the American Heart Association ensures continuity while leveraging the larger organization's reach and resources to scale these proven care models nationally. Additional information about the American Heart Association's initiatives can be found at https://www.heart.org.