GHA PRESIDENT'S PAGE

A MESSAGE

    With this issue of Heart Views, some of the Gulf Heart Association (GHA) members from the six Gulf Cooperation Council States became members of the Editorial and Advisory Boards of the Journal for the first time. This is an exciting development. I expect to see Heart Views enriched with contributions from other Gulf States in the coming issues.There is a demand to enlarge the journal but I will continue to put pressure to keep it slim. Bigger is not necessarily better. Readers, like me, turn away from fat journals. I remember in 1998 when Dr. Rachel, our present editor-in-chief, brought to our weekly cardiology meeting a sample issue of her proposal for a journal. I was skeptical at first but other members of our department in HMC were excited about it. It had bits of cardiology news, reviews, history of medicine, art and humor. We named it Heart Views in that meeting. It was a small local departmental journal that grew over four years to become the official journal of the GHA since last year. The Journal has published many papers from well-known cardiac centers around the world and from international cardiologists who are renowned in their particular subspecialty. The well-written, up-to-date reviews and original contributions from international institutions created a reputation of excellence for the Journal. The editorial staff would like to thank all those who have contributed to the Journal. We appreciate their help and encouragement. We hope they continue their support and cooperation. Since the last meeting of the GHA in Doha in October 17, 2002, we have launched our attractive web site: http://www.gulfheart.org/index.html. Please be a frequent visitor of our web site. GHA announcement, news and soon, our Bylaws, will be published on the site. Preparations for the Second GCC Cardiovascular Conference on January 13-15, 2004 in Muscat, Oman are in progress. GHA had a successful cardiology symposium in Doha in October 2002. On March 20, 2003 we will have a symposium in Muscat and another one is planned for September 2003 in Bahrain. Heart Views welcomes your scientific contribution and critique.

                                                                                    Happy New Year.

                                                                                                      H. A. Hajar Al Binali,MD
                                                                                                      President, GHA 
                                                                                                      31 December 2002