AHA awards grants for hypertension research in underserved communities
The American Heart Association donated $20 million in grants to five research teams focused on finding ways to prevent high BP in underserved populations.
“High blood pressure is a leading risk factor of heart disease and stroke that can often be prevented or managed if diagnosed and treated properly. However, there are significant racial and ethnic disparities in both the prevalence of hypertension and its management,” Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, ScD, FAHA, president of the AHA and chair of the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a press release. “Uncontrolled hypertension is particularly acute in communities of color. We are excited to launch this new research initiative to support the fast-track advancement of science to prevent hypertension with a focus on health equity.”
AHA chose research teams at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in Baltimore, NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Wayne State University in Detroit to work on the projects.
The overarching research program, RESTORE Network, will coordinate the five teams from a location at NYU. RESTORE is led by Gbenga Ogedegbe, MD, MPH, director of the Institute for Excellence in Health Equity.
According to the release, the RESTORE network intends on testing several strategies to help people overcome poor access to care, food deserts and lack of places for exercise that is pervasive in Black communities.
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