The American Heart Association (AHA) funds critical cardiovascular health research as a foundational mission. Since 1949, the organization has invested more than $5.7 billion into new research, with ongoing AHA-funded projects numbering 1,700 and representing $479 million in allocated capital. In 2022-23 alone, the organization provided $178 million in funding toward 868 new projects. Throughout its history, AHA has assisted in launching numerous careers in brain and cardiovascular research, including 15 scientists who achieved the Nobel prize. Over the past five years, the funding landscape has changed dramatically, with funding for scientists from underrepresented ethnic and racial groups more than doubling. The impact of such funding in legitimizing research can be substantial, with each $1 of AHA early-career faculty development awards generating, on average, 7.8 dollars in additional funding. The volunteer resources required to arrange such financing levels are immense. In 2022-23, 2,234 peer review volunteers evaluated 3,775 funding proposals. Of these, 1,996 applications, representing $535 million in requested funds, did not receive support. One of the major funding events each year centers on selecting three Merit Award winners, who receive $1 million each toward researching heart disease causes and treatments. Announced in January, the winners for 2024 spanned researchers in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and California. A Stanford University School of Medicine professor, Dr. Philip S. Tsao, is researching the impact of vaping on abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) risks. AAA involves a weakening of a major artery in the abdomen, with its rupture often resulting in death. As the researcher describes it, around 90 percent of people who suffer from AAA have a tobacco history of use. Yet, this relationship has been little studied, and there is almost no data tracking e-cigarettes and vaping and the prevalence of such aneurysms. Associated with the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Daniel J. Rader studies large-scale human genetics as a pathway of altered lipid metabolism, which can result in heart disease. A focus is on new genes expressed in the liver, which modulate the blood lipids implicated in many forms of heart disease. The research aims to unlock core cellular and biological mechanisms contributing to cardiovascular disease risk. Finally, Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Joseph Loscalzo is working on uncovering links between heart disease and naturally occurring chemicals in foods (or the foods themselves). Employing high-speed computers and algorithmic modeling, he has identified 135,000 such chemicals. A key focus is understanding how food chemicals interact with cellular proteins and which chemicals help protect the heart. This potentially lays a framework for developing new heart-protective drugs.

1. AMERICAN HEART
ASSOCIATION -
FUNDING VITAL NEW
HEART DISEASE
RESEARCH

2. The American Heart Association (AHA) funds critical cardiovascular health
research as a foundational mission. Since 1949, the organization has
invested more than $5.7 billion into new research, with ongoing AHA-
funded projects numbering 1,700 and representing $479 million in
allocated capital. In 2022-23 alone, the organization provided $178 million
in funding toward 868 new projects.
Throughout its history, AHA has assisted in launching numerous careers
in brain and cardiovascular research, including 15 scientists who achieved
the Nobel prize. Over the past five years, the funding landscape has
changed dramatically, with funding for scientists from underrepresented
ethnic and racial groups more than doubling.
The impact of such funding in legitimizing research can be substantial,
with each $1 of AHA early-career faculty development awards generating,
on average, 7.8 dollars in additional funding. The volunteer resources
required to arrange such financing levels are immense. In 2022-23, 2,234
peer review volunteers evaluated 3,775 funding proposals. Of these,
1,996 applications, representing $535 million in requested funds, did not
receive support.

3. One of the major funding events each year centers on selecting three Merit Award winners, who receive
$1 million each toward researching heart disease causes and treatments. Announced in January, the
winners for 2024 spanned researchers in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and California.
A Stanford University School of Medicine professor, Dr. Philip S. Tsao, is researching the impact of
vaping on abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) risks. AAA involves a weakening of a major artery in the
abdomen, with its rupture often resulting in death. As the researcher describes it, around 90 percent of
people who suffer from AAA have a tobacco history of use. Yet, this relationship has been little studied,
and there is almost no data tracking e-cigarettes and vaping and the prevalence of such aneurysms.
Associated with the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Daniel J. Rader studies large-
scale human genetics as a pathway of altered lipid metabolism, which can result in heart disease. A
focus is on new genes expressed in the liver, which modulate the blood lipids implicated in many forms
of heart disease. The research aims to unlock core cellular and biological mechanisms contributing to
cardiovascular disease risk.
Finally, Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Joseph Loscalzo is working on uncovering links between
heart disease and naturally occurring chemicals in foods (or the foods themselves). Employing high-
speed computers and algorithmic modeling, he has identified 135,000 such chemicals. A key focus is
understanding how food chemicals interact with cellular proteins and which chemicals help protect the
heart. This potentially lays a framework for developing new heart-protective drugs.

4. Another aspect of AHA’s research mission centers on
recognizing the top scientific advances that emerge
each year. In December 2023, the organization
revealed the most significant areas of heart- and
stroke-related research of the past year. At the top of
the list was a phase I study focused on adults age 65
and older and hypertension. With mortality related to
high blood pressure increased by more than 30
percent in the last three decades, the protein
angiotensinogen, secreted by the liver, is often
implicated. Greater levels of angiotensinogen
generally result in higher blood pressure
measurements.
The clinical research focuses on the investigational
drug Zilebesiran, which limits angiotensinogen
production. The eight-week study involved 107
participants and demonstrated that Zilebesiran safely
and effectively reduced blood pressure
measurements in 200 mg or more dosages. Side
effects were characterized as mild, with the drug
potentially therapeutic for heart and kidney disease,