The Interamerican Society of Cardiology was founded in Mexico on April 18, 1944 as a result of the visionary mind of the Master Ignacio Chávez. In that year, at the time of the inauguration the Mexico City’s National Institute of Cardiology, its founder and director, Dr. Ignacio Chavez, invited to the ceremony distinguished cardiologists from North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

After a fruitful exchange of two days, it was felt that the meeting had constituted, in fact, an Inter-American Congress and suggested recognize it as such. Attendees so remembered and decided to form the Inter-American Society of Cardiology and that the meeting represented the first Inter-American Congress of Cardiology. It was also decided to delegate Dr. Ignacio Chávez to draw up the statutes of the Society and to convene another Inter-American Congress of Cardiology in Mexico City when the World War II ended. Unanimously Dr. Ignacio Chávez was elected president of the Inter-American Society of Cardiology.

At present there are 27 national professional societies of cardiology members of the IASC that bring together more than 40,000 cardiologists.

  • Argentina: Sociedad Argentina de Cardiología |  Federación Argentina de Cardiología  |  Consejo Argentino de Residentes de Cardiología
  • Bolivia: Sociedad Boliviana de Cardiología
  • Brazil: Sociedad Brasileña de Cardiología
  • Canada: Canadian Cardiovascular Society
  • Caribbean: Caribbean Cardiac Society
  • Colombia: Sociedad Colombiana de Cardiología y Cirugía Cardiovascular
  • Costa Rica: Asociación Costarricense de Cardiología
  • Cuba: Sociedad Cubana de Cardiología
  • Chile: Sociedad Chilena de Cardiología y Cirugía Cardiovascular
  • Dominican Republic: Sociedad Dominicana de Cardiología
  • Ecuador: Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Cardiología
  • Unitted Stated of America: American Heart Association  |  American College of Cardiology
  • Guatemala: Asociación Guatemalteca de Cardiología
  • Honduras: Asociación Hondureña de Cardiología
  • Mexico: Sociedad Mexicana de Cardiología |  Asociación Nacional de Cardiólogos de México
  • Nicaragua: Asociación de Cardiólogos de Nicaragua
  • Panama: Sociedad Panameña de Cardiología
  • Paraguay: Sociedad Paraguaya de Cardiología
  • Peru: Sociedad Peruana de Cardiología
  • Puerto Rico: Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Cardiología
  • El Salvador: Asociación Salvadoreña de Cardiología
  • Uruguay: Sociedad Uruguaya de Cardiología
  • Venezuela: Sociedad Venezolana de Cardiología

The Executive Committee consists of:

  • President
  • Elected President
  • Immediate Past President
  • Vice-President of Canada
  • Vice-President of U.S.A.
  • Two Vice-Presidents of Central America and Caribbean
  • Two Vice-Presidents of South America
  • Secretary-Treasurer

Since the founding of the IASC and according to the laws in force, the permanent Secretary-Treasurer is based in the City of Mexico.

The Inter-American Congress of Cardiology takes place every two years, the last meeting was held in Santiago de Chile from December 4 to 7 in 2015.

The Inter-American Society of Cardiology, together with the European Society of Cardiology founded in 1950, la-Pacific Asian Cardiology founded in 1956, and the African Society of Cardiology Society founded in 1981 constitute the four Inter-continental Professional Societies of the Cardiology World Heart Federation (WHF).