Reynolds Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center

Project 3: Genetic Determinants of Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Towards Optimization of Prevention and Treatment

Principal Investigator

Helen Hobbs, MD, Professor of Medicine and Molecular Genetics

Co-Investigators

Richard J. Auchus, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology)

Jonathan Cohen, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Human Genetics)

James De Lamos, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)

Mark Drazner, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)

Scott Grundy, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of Human Nutrition Center

Amit Khera, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)

Darren McGuire, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)

Ronald Peshock, MD, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)

Lidia Szczepaniak, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hypertension)

Gloria Vega, PhD, Professor of Medicine (Clinical Nutrition)

Ronald Victor, MD, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)

Wanpen Vongpatanasin, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)

Duwayne Willett, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)

Collaborating Investigators

Richard Cooper, MD, Professor of Community and Preventive Medicine, Loyola University

Robert Gerszten, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Paul Ridker, MD, Director, Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Harvard Medical School

Peter Wilson, MD, Professor of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina

Jennifer Van Eyk, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Biomedical Engineering and Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University

Overview
Early medical intervention in asymptomatic individuals at risk is the most effective strategy to combat atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD). The major roadblock to effective ASHD prevention is that conventional tools to assess ASHD risk are inadequate and new methods are needed to identify susceptible individuals before the disease process is established. Other successful public-health screening programs have incorporated direct imaging procedures (e.g. mammography, colonoscopy); yet in ASHD, direct imaging of the vasculature has not been incorporated into the risk stratification algorithms. In this grant we propose to develop individualized prescriptions for the prevention of heart disease (Prescriptions for Prevention) based on state-of-the-art cardiovascular (CV) imaging coupled to biomarkers, genetic markers and classical ASHD risk factors. The development of such prescriptions can be immediately translated into clinical practice to reduce death and disability from ASHD. To achieve this goal we will transform the Dallas Heart Study (DHS) from a cross-sectional health survey (DHS-1) into a longitudinal cohort study (DHS-2). We will repeat the detailed clinical phenotyping performed 7 years ago and capture interval changes in ASHD risk and disease burden. Our objective is to pinpoint factors contributing to progression: 1) from health to ASHD risk; 2) from ASHD risk to subclinical ASHD; and 3) from subclinical to clinical ASHD (Figure 1). Identification of the critical factors in these transitions will enable targeted implementation of appropriate therapy to interdict before clinical ASHD develops.

Helen H. Hobbs, M.D. ________________

DHS Study Overview

DHS Bibliography

DHS Cohort Participation Link