This anniversary issue, which reviews the history of ten key areas of cardiology, documents how new understanding of cardiovascular medicine has narrowed the gap between the basic sciences and clinical practice. In the ancient world, when clinical observations were interpreted largely in a philosophical context, science had virtually no impact on patient care. Studies of pathological anatomy that began in the 16th century, along with Harvey’s description of the circulation in 1628, provided some explanations for cardiovascular disease, but these had virtually no clinical benefits for almost 300 years. It was not until the 20th century that invention of the electrocardiogram, developments in hemodynamic physiology, identification of the role of coronary disease in myocardial infarction, characterization of hypertension, discoveries in biochemistry and vascular biology, and other advances began to close the gap between bench and bedside. Practical applications included cardiac surgery, pharmacological agents tailored to correct pathophysiological abnormalities, risk factor modification, and new technologies for diagnosis and treatment. Basic science and clinical medicine moved even closer to one another in the late 1980s, when molecular biology made it possible to identify additional mechanisms of cardiovascular disease. Today, only a few years can elapse before a discovery identifies new ways to help the cardiac patient. The rapid pace at which we are now learning about cardiovascular disease and the increasing relevance of basic science to clinical practice continue historical processes described in this issue. This article projects these trajectories ahead to make a number of concrete predictions regarding cardiovascular medicine in 2016...