Patients' hearts are the Heart of Vanderbilt Heart.
The care of patients with and at risk for heart disease has improved and continues to get better because of research and support provided by the American Heart Association to doctors, scientists, and research teams, including us at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The AHA supports research that has led to understanding and care of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, valve disease, and heart failure, and much more. The AHA leads efforts to educate everyone on life-saving CPR.
If you or a loved-one are impacted by heart disease or its risk factors, please support your doctors and researchers at Vanderbilt by donating to the AHA so that we can continue to improve cardiovascular health for all.
Thank you for being our patients; our Hearts of Vanderbilt Heart.
Sincerely,
Deepak Gupta, MD
Cardiologist
Director, Vanderbilt Translational and Clinical Cardiovascular Research Center
Some examples of research supported by the AHA that continue to impact lives today are:
1940s
Heart surgery for congenital heart disease
Diuretics for blood pressure and heart failure management
1950s
Initial findings linking lifestyle factors (smoking and high fat diet) to heart disease
Development of defibrillators and pacemakers
1960s
Heart valve replacements
CPR invented
Nuclear imaging of blood flow to the heart
High blood pressure (hypertension) found to lower life expectancy
Initial medications for lowering cholesterol
1970s
Earl Sutherland (Vanderbilt Scientist) wins Nobel Prize for discovery of cyclic AMP, an important molecule in heart function, based on his research supported by the AHA
1980s
Brown and Lowenstein win Nobel Prize for research on LDL cholesterol which had been supported by the AHA
Statins approved by FDA for lowering cholesterol
1990s
Nobel Prize for research on nitric oxide, a chemical in the body that relaxes blood vessels, to Drs. Furchgott and Ignarro, whose work was supported by the AHA, and Dr. Murad
2000s
Research supported by the AHA contributed to development of left ventricular assist devices, or mechanical pumps, that can support some patients with advanced heart failure
FDA approves drug coated stents used to treat coronary arter disease developed by researchers supported by the AHA
Bystander CPR recommended to help save lives
2010s
Precision Medicine and personalized medicine programs supported by the AHA
2020s
The future is now!
