Dr. Eduardo Sanchez serves as Chief Medical Officer for Prevention for the American Heart Association. He is the principal investigator of the National Hypertension Control Initiative with the federal Office of Minority Health and the Health Resources and Services Administration. He is the AHA clinical lead on Target: BP, a joint blood pressure control initiative with the American Medical Association, and Know Diabetes by Heart, a joint cardiovascular risk factor control initiative with the American Diabetes Association.

Before joining AHA, he served as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, and he served as Director of the Institute for Health Policy at the University of Texas School of Public Health. Dr. Sanchez served as Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services from 2004 to 2006 and Commissioner of the Texas Department of Health. Dr. Sanchez obtained his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, an MPH from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, and an MS in biomedical engineering from Duke University. Dr. Sanchez is board certified in family medicine.cardiovascular risk factor control initiative with the American Diabetes Association). He is one of the authors of the AHA Presidential Advisory on Structural Racism and its health effects. Prior to joining AHA, he served as Vice President and CMO for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) where he focused on clinical prevention, and chronic disease management, particularly diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, health disparities, and worker and worksite wellness. Dr. Sanchez led the Institute for Health Policy at the University of Texas (UT) School of Public Health as Director from 2006 to 2008. From 2001 to 2006, he served as Texas Commissioner of Health, Texas’ state health officer, leading the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) from 2004 to 2006 and the Texas Department of Health (TDH) from 2001 to 2004. He served as the local public health officer for Austin-Travis County from 1994 to 1998.

Dr. Sanchez currently serves on the Board of Directors of Trust for America’s Health and other boards and committees at the local, state, and national levels. From 2008 to 2012, he served as chair of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He is the recipient of the 2011 Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) Alumni Award and the 2011 Texas Public Health Association (TPHA) James E. Peavy Memorial Award. In 2005, he was awarded the Texas School Health Association (TSHA) John P. McGovern Award and the 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Public Health Award. In 2004, he received the AHA Louis B. Russell Memorial Award, for outstanding service in addressing healthcare disparities. Dr. Sanchez obtained his M.D. from the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, an M.P.H. from the UT Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, and an M.S. in biomedical engineering from Duke University. He holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering and a B.A. in chemistry from Boston University. Dr. Sanchez is residency trained in family medicine and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (FAAFP). He is also a Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA).