In the years after World War II, heart attacks killed thousands of middle-aged Americans, many of them soldiers returning from conflict. Since then, NIH research has fostered major advances. Beginning with the groundbreaking Framingham Heart Study in the 1940s, major risk factors for cardiovascular disease were identified, including smoking, cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. NIH-funded research studies have since tested interventions to reduce these risks and shown them to be effective. These include medications to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as lifestyle modifications such as physical activity, healthy eating, and quitting smoking. Since 1969, deaths from heart disease have decreased by nearly 70 percent.
However, a stroke still strikes an American once every 40 seconds and can have devastating consequences on a person’s ability to function. In the mid-1990s, NIH research approved the drug tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), which dissolves blood clots that can cause strokes if given soon after symptoms appear. Additionally, a recent study showed that inserting a balloon catheter to remove a brain blood clot can prevent further damage in people who have suffered a severe stroke. NIH’s Know Stroke awareness campaign has helped thousands of people learn to recognize stroke as a medical emergency and seek help immediately.
However, more research is needed because heart disease and stroke remain the leading causes of death for both men and women in the United States. NIH-funded scientists are now turning to the power of precision medicine to better understand and manage these diseases. These efforts combine molecular data with data from behavioral, imaging, environmental, and clinical studies to predict, prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases based on an individual’s unique genes, lifestyle, and molecular characteristics. To do.
Did you know that?
After World War II, more than 50% of America’s economic growth was due to science and technology.
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