Two researchers receive $899,000 in cardiovascular funding

In heart-related news this Heart Week (5–11 May), two University of Newcastle researchers have been awarded $899,000 in cardiovascular funding. Backed by NSW Health’s Cardiovascular Senior and Early- to Mid-Career Researcher Grants, Dr Erin Clarke — a researcher from University of Newcastle’s School of Health Sciences and the Hunter Medical Research Institute’s (HMRI) Food and Nutrition Research Program — has been awarded $449,000. Clarke will examine how changes to dietary advice, combined with an assessment of genetic risk, could lower blood pressure and improve heart health.

“Not all individuals respond to the same medical nutrition interventions and more research is needed on how we can improve and identify personalised treatments for those at risk of developing heart disease,” Clarke said. “We want to generate new knowledge about how we can use personalised nutrition to manage and prevent high blood pressure in people with an increased risk of heart disease, including people with type 2 diabetes.”

Awarded $450,000, Dr Carlos Garcia-Esperon — Conjoint Associate Professor in the University of Newcastle’s School of Medicine and Public Health, Director of Acute Stroke Services at the John Hunter Hospital and part of HMRI’s Heart and Stroke Research Program — will evaluate new heart imaging techniques that could identify the cause of a stroke and prevent future strokes. Specifically, Garcia-Esperon will explore the benefit of adding a heart scan to routinely performed brain scans for people who present to hospital EDs with stroke-like symptoms.

Affecting nearly 50,000 Australians each year, ischaemic stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks a brain artery. The cause of stroke remains unclear in many of these patients, potentially increasing the risk of suffering a recurrent stroke. As many strokes are caused by a clot formed inside of the heart chambers, it is believed that expediting access to these scans may trigger an immediate change in how a patient’s symptoms are managed.

“The extra scan only adds a few minutes to the process and it could greatly improve the chances of finding out if the stroke was caused by a heart problem,” Garcia-Esperon said. “It then allows doctors to prescribe the most suitable medication and reduce the likelihood of another stroke.”

Heart Week resources for health professionals are available here, via the Heart Foundation website.

Image caption: Conjoint Associate Professor Carlos Garcia-Esperon. Source: University of Newcastle.