Eliminating the Sex and Gender Gap and Transforming the Cardiovascular Health of All Women.

Critical to eliminating the sex and gender gap in cardiovascular health is addressing known differences in disease burden, disparities in treatment and clinical outcomes, and the scientific importance of sex as a biological variable that influences resilience, pathophysiology, and ultimately the health of women. Furthermore, key disparities exist at the intersection of sex/gender and race/ethnicity where women of color are disproportionately affected by higher burden of disease and poorer outcomes in several cardiovascular conditions. Through efforts to galvanize strategic partnerships, sets forth research priorities across all of its objectives relevant to the cardiovascular health of women; it encourages strategic partnerships in both establishing and implementing research priorities.

A Report of the 24th Annual Congress on Women's Health-Workshop on Transforming Women's Health: From Research to Practice.

Sex and gender are critical contributors to overall health and disease, and considering both in research informs the development of prevention strategies and treatment interventions for both men and women. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women's Health sponsored a preconference workshop on this topic at the 24th Annual Women's Health Congress, which was held in Crystal City, VA, in April 2016. The workshop featured presentations by NIH intramural and extramural scientists who presented data on a variety of topics including polycystic kidney disease, vaccine protection, depression, drug addiction, and cardiovascular disease.

A Report of the Women's Health Congress Workshop on The Health of Women of Color: A Critical Intersection at the Corner of Sex/Gender and Race/Ethnicity.

Women of color face unique health challenges that differ significantly from those of other women and men of color. To bring these issues to light, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women's Health sponsored a preconference workshop at the 23rd Annual Women's Health Congress, which was held in Washington, DC, in April 2015. The workshop featured presentations by NIH intramural and extramural scientists who provided insight on the disparities of a wide range of conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, the risk of HIV infection, and disability in an aging population.

NHLBI perspectives on the growth of heart, lung, blood and sleep conditions in Africa: global and domestic insights, challenges and opportunities.

‘Of all forms of inequity, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane’ Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, March 25, 1966, 2nd National Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights

Improved quality of care for cardiovascular disease for Latinos seen in high proportion Latino vs low proportion Latino clinics.

Background: Primary care practices that concentrate linguistically and culturally appropriate services for Latinos may result in higher cardiology consultation rates and improved process measure performance for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and congestive heart failure (CHF).

Methods: Multivariable Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to assess differences in referral at high proportion (HP) vs low proportion (LP) practices. Multivariable Poisson regression was used to assess the frequency of follow-up consultation.

Race-ethnic and sex differences in left ventricular structure and function: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study.

Background: We investigated race-ethnic and sex-specific relationships of left ventricular (LV) structure and LV function in African American and white men and women at 43 to 55 years of age.

Methods And Results: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study enrolled African American and white adults, age 18 to 30 years, from 4 US field centers in 1985-1986 (Year-0) who have been followed prospectively. We included participants with echocardiographic assessment at the Year-25 examination (n=3320; 44% men, 46% African American).

Stimulating high impact HIV-related cardiovascular research: recommendations from a multidisciplinary NHLBI Working Group on HIV-related heart, lung, and blood disease.

The clinical challenges confronting patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have shifted from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related illnesses to chronic diseases, such as coronary artery disease, chronic lung disease, and chronic anemia. With the growing burden of HIV-related heart, lung, and blood (HLB) disease, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recognizes it must stimulate and support HIV-related HLB research. Because HIV offers a natural, accelerated model of common pathological processes, such as inflammation, HIV-related HLB research may yield important breakthroughs for all patients with HLB disease.

The Testosterone Trials: Seven coordinated trials of testosterone treatment in elderly men.

Background The prevalence of low testosterone levels in men increases with age, as does the prevalence of decreased mobility, sexual function, self-perceived vitality, cognitive abilities, bone mineral density, and glucose tolerance, and of increased anemia and coronary artery disease. Similar changes occur in men who have low serum testosterone concentrations due to known pituitary or testicular disease, and testosterone treatment improves the abnormalities. Prior studies of the effect of testosterone treatment in elderly men, however, have produced equivocal results.

Rationale and design of a multicenter echocardiographic study to assess the relationship between cardiac structure and function and heart failure risk in a biracial cohort of community-dwelling elderly persons: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study.

Background: Heart failure is an important public health concern, particularly among persons>65 years of age. Women and blacks are critically understudied populations that carry a sizeable portion of the heart failure burden. Limited normative and prognostic data exist on measures of cardiac structure, diastolic function, and novel measures of systolic deformation in older adults living in the community.

Hematopoietic cell transplantation and HIV cure: where we are and what next?

The report of the so-called Berlin patient cured of HIV with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and a few other studies raised tremendous hope, excitement, and curiosity in the field. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health convened a Working Group to address emerging heart, lung, and blood research priorities related to HIV infection. Hematopoietic cells could contribute to HIV cure through allogeneic or autologous transplantation of naturally occurring or engineered cells with anti-HIV moieties.

Longitudinal determinants of left ventricular mass and geometry: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify determinants of 20-year change in left ventricular (LV) mass (LVM) and LV geometry in black and white young adults in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study.

Methods And Results: We studied 2426 black and white men and women (54.7% white) aged 43 to 55 years with cardiovascular risk factor data and echocardiograms from CARDIA year 5 and 25 examinations.

Community-based primary prevention programs decrease the rate of metabolic syndrome among socioeconomically disadvantaged women.

Background: Metabolic Syndrome (MetSyn) is one of the strongest predictors of type 2 diabetes (DM2) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is associated with a 4- to 10-fold increased risk of DM2 and a 2- to 3-fold increased risk of CVD. Low income and minority women have some of the highest rates of MetSyn.