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Mike Mitka

JAMA. 2004;291:2533.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Billions of individuals are experiencing longer and healthier lives because of advances in medical technology and improving economic conditions in developing nations—but the cloud in this silver lining is that heart disease is on the rise.

In a report released on April 26, researchers call cardiovascular disease an urgent threat to global health and predict that by 2020, it will become the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The report, A Race Against Time: The Challenge of Cardiovascular Disease in Developing Economies (http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/2004/images/raceagainsttime_FINAL_0410404.pdf), was sponsored by the Australian Health Policy Institute at the University of Sydney, Columbia University in New York City, and the World Health Organization (WHO).

A 20-year window is now open to take action to curb heart disease in developing nations, the report's authors argue. This opportunity exists because developing countries with emerging robust economies generally have younger populations that have yet . . . [Full Text of this Article]