Where The Money Goes
Current Research Programs Funded
by The Heart Foundation
Funds raised by The Heart Foundation are sent to: P.K. Shah, MD Shapell and Webb Family Chair; Director of the Division of Cardiology and the Atherosclerosis Research Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Professor of Medicine, UCLA
The Heart Foundation is currently providing vital financial support for the following research programs:
Atherosclerosis Research Center Program Focus
- Identification of new genes that protect arteries from plaque build-up
- Use of gene therapy for prevention of plaque build-up and re-blockage of arteries after angioplasty and stenting
- Use of stem cells for treatment of heart muscle damage, heart failure and genetic cholesterol disorders
- Development of a vaccine to prevent arterial plaque build-up and heart attacks
- Testing of new gene therapy and anti-inflammatory molecules to prevent blockage of bypass grafts
- Identification of genes and special blood markers of inflammation, in combination with EBCT (Electron-Beam Computed Tomography), that predispose patients or normal subjects to high risk of recurrent heart attacks
- Identifying the mechanisms by which inflammation and immune cell activation lead to plaque build-up
- Gene profiling of heart and blood vessels to identify genes that are activated by exposure to cholesterol and cigarette smoke
Electrophysiology Research Program Focus
- Developing models of electrical disturbances of the heart in animals
- Mapping of electrical circuits that underlie fatal arrhythmias
- Understanding the role of nerves in the genesis of fatal disturbances of heart rhythm
- Electronic mapping of arrhythmia circuits in humans
Interventional Cardiology Research Program Focus
- Development and testing of novel local drug delivery systems to prevent re-blockage in arteries after angioplasty and stenting
- Local stem cell delivery into pig and eventually human hearts using catheter-based techniques to repair heart muscle damage