$1.1 trillion
Overall impact of cardiovascular disease.
Heart & Blood Vessel Disease Research
Quick links for Heart & Blood Vessel Disease Research
Advancing heart and blood vessel research
NEOMED researchers are working to better understand the causes of cardiovascular disease and develop more effective treatments. Their work spans heart failure, vascular disease, blood vessel growth, stem cells and regenerative medicine.
The studies
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. At NEOMED, researchers in this focus area work across physiology, pharmacology, molecular and cellular biology, and bioinformatics to better understand the heart, blood vessels and related diseases. Their goal: to improve patient outcomes by advancing knowledge of cardiovascular function and dysfunction.
A partner’s perspective
Joseph Pietrolungo, D.O., of Summa Health System discusses the importance of heart and blood vessel disease research for developing novel treatments.
VIDEO EXTRA: Diseases of the heart and blood vessels are the number one cause of death in the U.S. Researchers in the Heart and Blood Vessel Disease Research Focus Area at NEOMED advance the understanding of these diseases with the goal of going beyond stopping their progression and, ultimately, curing them.
The successes
- Creation of molecularly engineered stem cells to build bypasses in the heart.
- Discovery of the role that mechanical factors play in tumor blood vessel growth.
- Discovery of the critical role of bioenergetics in cell growth.
- Discovery that heart failure may be a disease of both blood vessels and cardiac muscle.
- Discovery that a cell type in the heart that makes it stiff, may be mechanically activated.
- Implementation and completion of a Phase 1 clinical trial in which a drug is given to patients to recruit stem cells to the heart to treat heart failure.
- Discovery of a bone marrow stem that plays a role in blood vessel growth in the heart.
- Discovery that the growth blockages in blood vessels is modulated by certain hormones released by fat. These hormones make an injured blood vessel more prone to injury.
The statistics
1
Diseases of the heart & blood vessels are the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S., accounting for more than $½ trillion in health care costs.
30
Every 30 seconds an individual in the U.S. dies from sudden cardiac disease.
The scientists
Research within the Heart and Blood Vessel Disease Research Focus Area is comprised of four clusters of investigators in different scientific ares with a focus on heart and blood vessel diseases.
Blood Vessel Growth
Ischemic Heart Disease & Heart Failure
Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine
