According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination with inactivated influenza vaccine is recommended for individuals who have chronic disorders of the cardiovascular system because they are at increased risk for complications from influenza.147 Additionally, the writing group added new sections on depression and on cardiovascular rehabilitation. The writing group continues to emphasize the importance of giving consideration to the use of cardiovascular medications that have been proven in randomized clinical trials to be of benefit. This strengthens the evidence-based foundation for therapeutic application of these guidelines. The committee ac- knowledges that ethnic minorities, women, and the elderly are underrepresented in many trials and urges physician and patient participation in trials that will provide additional evidence with regard to therapeutic strategies for these groups of patients. In the 15 years since these guidelines were first published, 2 other developments have made them even more important in clinical care. First, the aging of the population continues to expand the number of patients living with a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (now estimated at 16.3 million for CHD alone)170 who might benefit from these therapies. Second, multiple studies of the use of these recommended therapies in appropriate patients, although showing slow improvement, continue to support the discouraging conclu- sion that many patients in whom therapies are indicated are not receiving them in actual clinical practice. The AHA and ACCF recommend the use of programs such as the AHA s Get With The Guidelines,171 the American Cancer Society/ American Diabetes Association/AHA s Guideline Advantage Program,172 and the ACC s PINNACLE (Practice INNova- tion And CLinical Excellence) program173 to identify appro- priate patients for therapy, provide practitioners with useful reminders based on the guidelines, and continually assess the success achieved in providing these therapies to the patients who can benefit from them. 