AREAS OF RESEARCH
CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH
New approaches in the quest for cures.
Beating 100,000 times a day, the heart pumps blood and oxygen through a 60,000-mile-long network of vessels. It sustains life, working without ceasing, yet a list of maladies can stop it in minutes, or even instantly. Death is widely accepted as a fixed outcome for events like massive heart attack and traumatic blood loss. But at HMRI, we see science differently. We're finding ways to reduce the size of heart attacks, increasing the odds that we might survive them. And we are working on ways to train our bodies to survive devastating blood loss. Our scientists enter the lab each morning with excitement and determination, because the potential is huge: millions of lives saved.
AREAS OF RESEARCH
MEET OUR CARDIOVASCULAR TEAM
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Learn MoreShrinking Heart Attack
Heart disease takes an American life every 36 seconds, every day. That accounts for one of every four deaths. Its threat is grim, and the numbers are sobering, but hope is there: Scientific research that can change the trajectory. Instead of accepting death as an inevitable outcome, our scientists challenge the status quo. What are the triggers of heart attack? When and why do heart attacks cause death? How can we help people survive them? Our latest discovery is exciting: through medication and hypothermia, we can reduce the size of heart attacks. Making heart attacks smaller preserves heart muscle and its ability to pump blood, which increases our odds of surviving them—and our quality of life afterward.
Our Research: Triggers for Heart Attack
Shrinking Heart Attack
Heart disease takes an American life every 36 seconds, every day. That accounts for one of every four deaths. Its threat is grim, and the numbers are sobering, but hope is there: Scientific research that can change the trajectory. Instead of accepting death as an inevitable outcome, our scientists challenge the status quo. What are the triggers of heart attack? When and why do heart attacks cause death? How can we help people survive them? Our latest discovery is exciting: through medication and hypothermia, we can reduce the size of heart attacks. Making heart attacks smaller preserves heart muscle and its ability to pump blood, which increases our odds of surviving them—and our quality of life afterward.
Our Research: Triggers for Heart Attack
HEMORRHAGIC SHOCK THERAPIES
Hemorrhagic shock occurs when a person loses more than 20% of their blood volume, making it impossible for the heart to adequately circulate blood throughout the body. It's one of the most common causes of combat deaths—soldiers bleed out before their injuries can be treated. It's also the leading cause of death in civilians due to accidents. While we can't prevent trauma, we're finding that perhaps we can prevent death. Our cardiovascular scientists are training the body to survive devastating blood loss through experimental drugs and a noninvasive technique called pre-conditioning, which uses a blood pressure cuff that methodically inflates/deflates to protect the organs by conditioning them to low oxygen levels.
Approximately 90% of military deaths occur before the injured reach a medical facility.
HEMORRHAGIC SHOCK THERAPIES
Hemorrhagic shock occurs when a person loses more than 20% of their blood volume, making it impossible for the heart to adequately circulate blood throughout the body. It's one of the most common causes of combat deaths—soldiers bleed out before their injuries can be treated. It's also the leading cause of death in civilians due to accidents. While we can't prevent trauma, we're finding that perhaps we can prevent death. Our cardiovascular scientists are training the body to survive devastating blood loss through experimental drugs and a noninvasive technique called pre-conditioning, which uses a blood pressure cuff that methodically inflates/deflates to protect the organs by conditioning them to low oxygen levels.
Approximately 90% of military deaths occur before the injured reach a medical facility.
VAPING & TOXICITY
Vaping and e-cigarettes were once thought to be 95% safer than smoking, but research continues to prove this wrong—including a study conducted by our own cardiovascular scientists. Early results of HMRI's research uncovered significant lung injury from e-cigarettes—and linked it to the heating element of some devices. Researchers observed e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) early in a basic science experimental study in which exposure to electronic cigarettes induced changes in the histology of the lungs. In addition, the laboratory is examining the long-term effects of e-cigarette exposure on the structure and function of the cardiovascular system.
The harms associated with e-cigarettes and vaping simply cannot be overstated. The results of this research were so impactful, we felt it imperative to release the initial findings early so that electronic cigarette users could be cautioned sooner, especially considering e-cigarette users are at increased risk of COVID-19.
—Robert A Kloner, MD, PhD, HMRI
VAPING & TOXICITY
Vaping and e-cigarettes were once thought to be 95% safer than smoking, but research continues to prove this wrong—including a study conducted by our own cardiovascular scientists. Early results of HMRI's research uncovered significant lung injury from e-cigarettes—and linked it to the heating element of some devices. Researchers observed e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) early in a basic science experimental study in which exposure to electronic cigarettes induced changes in the histology of the lungs. In addition, the laboratory is examining the long-term effects of e-cigarette exposure on the structure and function of the cardiovascular system.
The harms associated with e-cigarettes and vaping simply cannot be overstated. The results of this research were so impactful, we felt it imperative to release the initial findings early so that electronic cigarette users could be cautioned sooner, especially considering e-cigarette users are at increased risk of COVID-19.
—Robert A Kloner, MD, PhD, HMRI
COVID-19
The global pandemic has now reached all seven continents. With the number of cases and related deaths continuing to climb, there is still much we don't know about COVID-19. But our scientists are studying several intersections of COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease—providing lifesaving insights that could help those who are doubly impacted. What's more, our research has shown an increase in the number of cardiac arrests occurring at home—likely because patients are avoiding hospitals for fear of the pandemic. They are waiting too long to call 911 when they have symptoms of heart attack, like chest pain.
36% Of patients with COVID-19 end up battling myocarditis, a viral infection causing inflammation in the heart.
COVID-19
The global pandemic has now reached all seven continents. With the number of cases and related deaths continuing to climb, there is still much we don't know about COVID-19. But our scientists are studying several intersections of COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease—providing lifesaving insights that could help those who are doubly impacted. What's more, our research has shown an increase in the number of cardiac arrests occurring at home—likely because patients are avoiding hospitals for fear of the pandemic. They are waiting too long to call 911 when they have symptoms of heart attack, like chest pain.