heart disease

May 20, 2021

VUMC is pacesetter for national aspirin study

According to an innovative large-scale clinical trial reported last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, a single daily baby aspirin (81 mg) or a single daily adult aspirin (325 mg) are equally safe and effective for prevention of adverse cardiovascular events for patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

By Paul Govern
Cholesterol
January 21, 2021

NIH grant bolsters research on heart disease, cholesterol

Thanks to major funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have made major inroads in understanding how high-density lipoprotein (HDL), commonly known as good cholesterol, in some cases may actually contribute to the development of atherosclerosis.

By Bill Snyder
Amanda Mixon, MD, MS
November 17, 2020

Statins to be studied for prevention of dementia, disability and heart disease 

Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers are enrolling adults aged 75 and over to study whether taking atorvastatin, a drug commonly used to lower cholesterol also called Lipitor®, can help maintain health by preventing dementia, disability, and heart disease.

By Craig Boerner
September 19, 2019

All-in-one pill helps reduce blood pressure, cholesterol

A single pill containing low doses of three medications to treat high blood pressure and one to lower cholesterol reduced the estimated risk of cardiovascular disease by 25%, according to a VUMC study.

By Craig Boerner
June 10, 2019

Cell-cell signals in developing heart

Scott Baldwin and colleagues have discovered early signaling events during heart development, findings that could guide cell replacement therapies for heart disease.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 9, 2019

Blueprint for rebuilding the heart

Young-Jae Nam and colleagues are discovering how to express specific factors in connective tissue cells to turn them into heart muscle cells.

By Anivarya Kumar
May 2, 2019

More congenital heart patients becoming transplant candidates

Patients with a form of congenital heart disease — having only one ventricle (pumping chamber) — are now living longer lives due to the successful surgical and medical treatments they receive as children.
By Matt Batcheldor
April 15, 2019

Harvard’s Christine Seidman to receive 2019 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science

Christine Seidman, MD, whose lab has identified the genetic causes of several human heart diseases including cardiomyopathy (potentially fatal enlargement of the heart) is the recipient of the 2019 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, officials at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) announced today.
By Bill Snyder
June 7, 2018

Enzyme protects against obesity-related heart disease

Vanderbilt scientists have discovered that a certain enzyme plays a crucial role in preventing obesity-related cardiac dysfunction.
By Sanjay Mishra
January 25, 2018

A cataract-heart connection

Studies of alpha-B crystallin in zebrafish could ultimately lead to improved treatment for cataracts and heart disease.
By Meredith Jackson
February 4, 2016

Prostate cancer survivors’ risk of heart disease studied

The 3 million prostate cancer survivors in the United States are likely to die from something other than cancer, thanks to early detection, effective treatment and the disease’s slow progression.
By Kathy Whitney
June 11, 2015

Former heart patient inspired to create Discovery Science Fund

Two vastly different causes of heart failure, both of which can devastate a patient’s life, are being studied at Vanderbilt University Medical Center thanks, in part, to the generosity of a grateful patient whose own damaged heart was repaired at Vanderbilt more than five years ago.
By Nancy Humphrey
May 15, 2015

Boosting cell-based heart repair

A metabolic change in adult stem cells makes them less “fit” for regenerative heart therapies, suggesting that strategies to prevent this response may boost the therapeutic usefulness of the cells.
By Leigh MacMillan