We are now entering the third decade of the 21st century and, especially in the last few years, the achievements made by researchers have been exceptional. This rapid development has led to major advancements in the fast-growing field of intensive care cardiovascular medicine. Frontiers have organised a series of Research Topics to highlight the latest advancements in research across the field of cardiovascular medicine. This Research Topic is led by Prof Fabio Guarracino, Specialty Chief Editor of intensive care cardiovascular medicine. Together with Dr Marija Vavlukis, this Research Topic will focus on new insights, novel developments, current challenges, the latest discoveries, and future perspectives.

This Research Topic is part of the Insights in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine series. Following the success of the inaugural series, Frontiers has organized a series of Research Topics to highlight the latest advancements in research across the field of cardiovascular medicine, with articles from the members of our accomplished Editorial Boards. This editorial initiative of particular relevance, led by Professor Masanori Aikawa, Specialty Chief Editor of the Atherosclerosis and Vascular Medicine section, is focused on new insights, novel developments, current challenges, latest discoveries, recent advances, and future perspectives in the field of atherosclerosis.

Coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death in both men and women in most industrialized countries. Yet it is largely preventable, and health care providers can acquire the skills to help their patients reduce their risks substantially. Traditional risk factors such as cigarette smoking, hypercholesterolimia, hypertension, sedentary lifestyle, obesity and glucose intolerance explain a major proportion of coronary events. Recent evidence also suggests important adjunctive roles for hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women, and aspirin prophlaxis in individuals at high risk of a first myocardial infarction. Emerging evidence indicates an important role for diet in the prevention of heart disease. Although the importance of lifestyle and behavioral modifications may well be known among physicians and other health-care providers, the implementation of this knowledge has been limited. One reason is that the information supporting the value, feasibility and cost-effectiveness of risk-reduction strategies has not been previously synthesized and made widely available to health-care providers in office and community settings. Prevention of Myocardial Infarction fills these critical gaps by providing a state-of-the-art compendium of the scientific evidence on the efficacy of coronary disease prevention, while focusing on helping clinicians develop intervention skills to utilize available knowledge. Chapters by leading authorities in cardiovascular epidemiology, clinical cardiology, cost-effectiveness analysis, and public health translate the theory of preventive cardiology into feasible implementation. The counseling and other intervention strategies described in this textbook have documented clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness, and they require little time to learn or implement. The book is written mainly for primary care providers, including general internists and family physicians, but will also be of interest to medical subspecialties such as cardiologists and endocrinologists, as well as medical students, dietitians, psychologists, epidemiologists, and students, practitioners, and researchers in public health.