The following gallery is a collection of photos and images dated from 1999 when Dr. Naghavi and colleagues at Texas Heart Institute started a series of Vulnerable Plaque Symposia. This initiative led to the creation of AEHA (Association for Eradication of Heart Attack) in 2001. After several Vulnerable Plaque Symposia and publication of a landmark paper “From Vulnerable Plaque to Vulnerable Patient: A Call for New Definitions and Risk Assessment Strategies“, the Vulnerable Plaque Symposium changed to Vulnerable Patient Symposium. Soon after AEHA changed name to Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE). The SHAPE movement continues its efforts toward the mission of eradicating heart attacks in the 21st century. The photos in this gallery illustrate the many faces of pioneers and early contributors to this initiative which opened the way to a heart-attack free future.

This photo is a tribute to Dr. Naghavi’s mentor Dr. Ward Casscells who unfortunately and prematurely passed away in 2012.