Health Research
November 28, 2007
Kaiser Permanente to Participate in National Network to Study Cardiovascular Disease
A Kaiser Permanente investigator will be the principal investigator for the national network, which will leverage collective cardiovascular expertise, diverse community-based study populations and electronic data systems to study the epidemiology, prevention, management and outcomes of cardiovascular diseases.
The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute has provided $7.5 million over the next five years to establish the Cardiovascular Research Network, a national resource that will leverage the collective cardiovascular expertise, diverse community-based study populations and rich electronic data systems within the HMO Research Network to better study the epidemiology, prevention, management and outcomes of cardiovascular diseases.
Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, it remains the leading cause of death and disability in the United States and one of the fastest rising causes of death and disability in the world. Led by Kaiser Permanente Division of Research investigator Alan S. Go, MD, the new CVRN network will initially conduct three core research projects over the next five years:
- Hypertension recognition, treatment and control
- Quality of care and outcomes of the blood thinner warfarin for atrial fibrillation and blood clots, and
- The use and outcomes of implantable cardiac defibrillators.
The CVRN will leverage expertise, populations, and data resources from a consortium of 14 geographically diverse health plans in the United States with integrated research divisions. Collectively, this represents more than 7 million health plan members and several hundred doctoral level investigators, clinical researchers and support people.
For more information, read this news release.
