ARCHIVED - Your Health Research Dollars at Work 2005-2006

This page has been archived.

Heart Disease

[ PDF (41.2 KB) | Help ]

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. Through CIHR, the Government of Canada invested approximately $100.2 million in 2005-06 in research on cardiovascular diseases across Canada.

---

The Facts

• Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Canada and accounted for at least 33% of all deaths (34% among women, 32% among men) in 2002.
• Men are more likely to develop heart disease early in life; women tend to "catch up" around menopause. Women experiencing heart disease or stroke are often under-diagnosed or managed differently than men.
• According to the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey conducted among persons aged 12 years or more, five million Canadians say they are affected by heart disease, hypertension and stroke.
• Cardiovascular disease is the most costly disease affecting Canadians. In 1998, it was responsible for $18.5 billion in expenditures, or 11.6% of the total cost of all illnesses in Canada. Of this, $6.8 billion was in direct costs, particularly for hospital care, and $11.7 billion was in indirect costs, most due to premature death.

Research Finding Solutions to Heart Disease

• CIHR-supported researcher Dr. James Christenson, of BC's Providence Health Care developed a test for identifying the severity of chest pains that will help reduce emergency department overcrowding. The Vancouver Chest Pain Rule helps determine which chest pain patients can be safely sent home sooner, thereby reducing the need for prolonged emergency room observation, extensive rule-out protocols and expensive testing.

• E-mail is a source of constant aggravation for many people - but it can also be a source of health according to CIHR-funded researcher Dr. Ronald Plotnikoff of the University of Alberta. He has shown that sending regular health-promotion e-mails can have an impact on reducing some of the risk factors for heart disease, such as being overweight and not eating enough fruits and vegetables. In a study involving 1,600 participants in five large Canadian workplaces, half received a series of e-mails (one per week for a period of 12 weeks) promoting the benefits of healthy eating and exercise. At the end of the study, the group receiving e-mails actually showed a small decrease in their Body Mass Index (BMI), while those with empty mailboxes saw their BMI go up.

• Hardened arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis, are a major cause of heart disease and stroke. CIHR-funded researcher Dr. Richard Austin of McMaster University has discovered more about the role of one of the chemicals produced by the body that accelerates atherosclerosis. Dr. Austin demonstrated that the chemical, called peroxynitrate, activates a kind of stress response in cells, which causes inflammation and changes in the way the cells metabolize fats, both of which contribute to changes in arteries. Dr. Austin is now working to find ways to block this stress response, which will be another tool in the fight against heart disease.

• CIHR-supported researcher Dr. Janos Filep of the Université de Montréal discovered a new role for the C-reactive protein (CRP) in coronary heart disease. Previous research established CRP as a sign of inflammation. New research by Dr. Filep determined that a modified form of this protein helps stimulate production of white blood cells, which accelerates inflammation in the coronary arteries and contribute to heart disease. The research suggests that blocking this protein could be a new way of treating heart disease.

• High-risk heart failure patients are the least likely to be given drugs meant to prevent the condition, according to a study by CIHR-supported researcher Dr. Douglas Lee of the Toronto-based Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. The study examined 1,418 heart failure patients aged 79 and younger discharged from hospital after treatment for a heart failure. Paradoxically, patients identified as low-risk were 61% more likely to receive drugs that prevent blood vessels from constricting, allowing blood to flow more freely to the heart than high-risk patients. The study provides new information that will help reinforce drug usage guidelines for heart failure patients.

In the Pipeline...
Studying Gender Differences in Heart Disease

Dr. Louise Pilote of McGill University is leading a five-year project studying gender differences in heart disease. One such difference is that women are more likely than men to die in the first year after a heart attack. Another is the higher mortality rate among diabetic women with heart disease compared to diabetic men. Historically, the majority of research on heart disease has focused on men, making it difficult to get an accurate picture of how the disease affects women. The research team includes 30 investigators from across Canada. Research will help build improved treatment for heart disease that takes key gender differences into account.

The Researchers...
Dr. Jeffrey Wigle - Helping Damaged Hearts and Preventing Heart Disease

For Dr. Jeffrey Wigle, every day at work offers a chance at discovery, a thrill, he says, that has never worn off since the first time he published new and novel information. "There's this incredible feeling when you show something that no one has never seen before and describe what it looks like and what it does - it's the joy of discovery."

After completing post-doctoral training in the United States, Dr. Wigle came back to Canada thanks to the availability of new funding from sources such as CIHR. Since that time, he's worked as a researcher at the University of Manitoba's Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre.

Dr. Wigle is studying the function of two genes, known as Meox1 and Meox2 that play a key role in the growth of smooth muscle cells found in both blood vessels and the heart muscle.

Dr. Wigle wants to use the genes to encourage the growth of new heart muscle cells which are damaged when heart attacks occur. He also wants to intervene before heart disease can take hold. For example, too much growth of smooth muscle cells in blood vessels leads to blocked arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis. Excess growth also happens as a result of operations meant to reverse the impact of clogged arteries, such as bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty.

"The body treats this as an injury and, in this case, there is decreased expression or production of the Meox proteins (produced by the Meox genes) which, until that point, have acted like a brake on cell growth. With the brake suddenly removed, there is an excess growth of cells," he notes.

For Dr. Wigle, even though the function of these proteins is well documented, more research is needed to understand the genetic changes responsible for increasing or decreasing production of the Meox proteins.

According to Dr. Wigle, learning more about these detailed processes is essential to designing new and highly targeted drugs for patients. "We want to make sure that we are creating new therapies that are precisely tailored for the job they need to do," he notes.

The CIHR Institute

Heart, lung and blood vessel diseases are the major health burdens facing Canadians - yet if we understood how our genes, the environment, and our behaviour interplay to cause these common conditions, they might be preventable. CIHR's Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health is supporting research that asks tough questions about the causes, consequences, and control of these conditions.

About CIHR

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to catalyze its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian healthcare system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 10,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research
160 Elgin St., 9th Floor, Ottawa, ON K1A 0W9
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/