The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has announced the start of a new multi-year collaborative initiative supported by founding sponsors Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly and Company, and Novo Nordisk. The initiative's goal is to help people with type 2 diabetes reduce their risk of disability and death due to cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. Additional support for the initiative is provided by national sponsor Sanofi.

The new initiative will enhance consumer awareness, patient education, healthcare provider training, and quality improvement measures for clinics, practices and hospitals treating people with type 2 diabetes.

Together, the AHA and ADA bring strong credentials to this effort, with more than 30 million volunteers, members and healthcare professionals with a combined 170 years of expertise. The AHA is the world's leading voluntary organization working to build lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke. The ADA is the nation's leading voluntary health organization working to prevent, cure and improve the lives of those affected by diabetes.