Two Italian women have been appointed to substantial positions in JAMA Cardiology, the scientific journal of American cardiologists. Barbara Casadei has recently been appointed Editor-in-Chief, while Silvia Giuliana Priori has joined the Editorial Board. They had previously collaborated during Casadei's tenure as president of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and Priori's tenure as chair of the Program Committee. Cardiovascular disease is critical to public health since it is the largest cause of mortality worldwide, killing approximately 18 million people annually, according to World Health Organization figures. Barbara Casadei is the head of the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Imperial College London. She moved to the University of Oxford in 1990 after receiving her medical degree from the University of Pavia. Her scientific interests include basic and clinical research, as well as conducting worldwide clinical studies, notably in atrial fibrillation. She is a fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and was the first woman to be elected President of the ESC, where she established the Cardiovascular Patient Forum, Women in the ESC, and EuroHeart, an international collaborative network for promoting cardiovascular medicine standards.