Jewish General Hospital - Press releases

2012/10/03

Dr. Ernesto Schiffrin named President of prestigious International Society of Hypertension

Dr. Ernesto Schiffrin, Physician in Chief at the Jewish General Hospital (JGH), took over today as President of the International Society of Hypertension (ISH), at a special ceremony in Sydney, Australia. The ISH serves a number of functions around the world, promoting and encouraging the advancement of knowledge in the prevention and management of heart disease and stroke in hypertension.

An internationally recognized expert in the field of hypertension, Dr. Ernesto Schiffrin has been the JGH’s Physician-in-Chief, Chief of the Department of Medicine and Director of the Cardiovascular Prevention Centre since he joined the hospital in 2006. In addition, at the JGH’s Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Dr. Schiffrin is the Canada Research Chair and Director of the Hypertension and Vascular Research Unit. He is also a Professor and Vice-Chair (Research) in McGill University’s Department of Medicine.

“It is a great honor to be named the President of this world leading organization in hypertension prevention,” says Dr. Schiffrin. “I am proud to be working with an organization that encourages the advancement of scientific research and knowledge in all aspects of hypertension, as well as communicates these results to the world.”

As President, Dr. Schiffrin is responsible for overseeing the operations of this international society. He will be leading and promoting activities throughout the world, as well as monitoring various tangential committees. One aspect of his new mandate of particular personal interest to Dr. Schiffrin is the focus on transferring knowledge from the developed to the developing world, in order to reduce overall morbidity and mortality.

The two primary goals of the ISH are to support younger members and reach out to as many countries as possible. The organization hosts numerous symposiums to improve the transfer of knowledge to doctors, nurses and allied health professionals worldwide, such as the Hypertension Summer School to be held in Argentina in October this year. Also, the ISH is responsible for the Young Investors Committee, which brings young medical professionals from the Third World to work in top institutions so that they may learn as much as possible about hypertension before returning to their home countries.

“A principle focus of mine is to help develop guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of patients residing in low and middle-income countries,” explains Dr. Schiffrin. “To beat the worldwide epidemic of hypertension it is essential that we develop evidence-based guidelines that take into account the availability of resources in the developing world, thus making it possible to improve outcomes for those that have fewer resources on hand.”

"Dr. Schiffrin's election is a well-deserved tribute to his commanding stature as one of the world's most renowned experts in the field of hypertension," says Dr. Hartley Stern, JGH Executive Director. "Dr. Schiffrin's esteem among his peers is representative of the efforts made by all members of JGH staff, whether in medicine or other fields, to forge international links and partnerships in order to share knowledge on a global scale and improve the quality of treatments and care for patients at home and abroad."

For more information on Dr. Ernesto Schiffrin, visit http://www.jgh.ca/en/BioSchiffrin .

For more information on the International Society of Hypertension and its activities, visit http://www.ish-world.com/default.aspx?Home .

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Contact:

Glenn J. Nashen, Director
Astrid Morin, Media Relations
Public Affairs and Communications
Jewish General Hospital
Tel.: 514-340-8222 ext. 4612
Email: amorin@jgh.mcgill.ca
Website: jgh.ca