The National Cardiovascular Center (NCVC) was founded in 1977 in order to provide the public with the most advanced treatment for cardiovascular diseases and to conduct the highest level of basic as well as applied research on the cardiovascular system and its diseases. During these 30 years, we have developed a number of new ways to treat and care for patients with cardiovascular problems and have also made considerable contribution towards the progress of cardiovascular research. In spite of our achievements and efforts, however, the mortality by cardiovascular diseases in Japan remains to be high. Continued efforts must be made to conquer the disease, and we are ready to do so with renewed vigor.

One may think of cardiovascular diseases as illness of the heart. It is true that the heart is the central organ of the cardiovascular system and that heart failure which can cause one's sudden death is a serious cardiovascular disease. However, we must realize that there are other cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke and hypertension, which affect other important organs in the body and that such conditions usually develop slowly as the result of a complex interplay among the vascular wall, blood contents and the neural input. These diseases are those most severely affecting the aged members of our society. As the number of the aged in our society increases, controlling cardiovascular diseases has become an important health issue for the country.

The cardiovascular disease is a multifacet disease. To conquer it, clinicians as well as experts from both basic and applied fields of sciences are gathered here at the NCVC. Through their effective collaboration, new ideas and technologies for organ and tissue transplantation, manufacturing artificial tissues and organs, gene therapy, and tissue engineering using cells obtained from patients are being developed. In addition to these clinical and research related activities, another important mission of the NCVC is to give the public the latest and accurate information on cardiovascular diseases. It is hoped that such information is helpful to anyone who wants to reduce the risk of the disease by, for instance, modifying his/her life style.

The JUN-Net system, which began its operation in 1996, is a large-scale computer network system connecting several major institutions specialized in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in this country. This network system provides means for clinicians and researchers to rapidly spread, exchange, and gather the latest findings and information on cardiovascular diseases and other relevant matters. The system also makes itself available for the general public to obtain the facts and news on the disease. We hope that the network will make the distance between you and us much closer. We thank you for your interest in the activities of the NCVC and invite you to join with us for the fight against cardiovascular diseases.