Chicago Heart Association

The Chicago Heart Association was founded in 1922 by James B. Herrick who served as its first president. The objectives of the Association were the education of doctors and the general public, the coordination of community organizations dealing with heart disease, and the promotion of research of heart disease, especially as it relates to public health.

The Chicago Heart Association was founded in 1922 by James B. Herrick who served as its first president. It was originally called the Chicago Association for the Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease. The objectives of the Association were the education of doctors and the general public, the coordination of community organizations dealing with heart disease, and the promotion of research of heart disease, especially as it relates to public health.

The Chicago Heart Association was founded by James B. Herrick, M.D., who served as its first president. Originally known as the Chicago Association for the Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease, the association held its first formal meeting on April 7, 1922, after preliminary organizational work that had begun in 1921. Modeled on the New York Association for the Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease, it had a three-fold objective: the education of doctors and the general public; the coordination of community organizations dealing with heart disease; and the promotion of research on heart disease, especially as it relates to public health.

The organization held its first annual meeting in 1924, and in 1925 changed its name to the Chicago Heart Association. It played an active role in the American Heart Association and also sponsored the reorganization of the formerly dissolved Illinois Heart Association in 1944.