Health Conditions

What is on the horizon?

Research is currently taking place to find the optimal timing of therapy to prevent complications from coronary heart disease. Using the medications that are currently available at different times in the development of coronary heart disease can have a huge impact on the prevention of heart attack and stroke. Stem cells are also being researched for the treatment of coronary heart disease.

Researchers with the National Institutes of Health are currently conducting a study looking at the use of a man- made amino acid, EDTA, for the treatment of coronary heart disease. Past studies that included EDTA did not show any benefit; however, this study is larger and hoping to prove otherwise.

Evidence from a recent study that investigated cardiovascular risk factors in the children of parents who survived to 85 found that people whose parents live longer were less likely to develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other risk factors for coronary heart disease in middle age than their peers whose parents died younger. Researchers from the long-standing Framingham Heart Study (FHS), a program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, are expanding their research into other areas such as the role of genetic factors in coronary heart disease as well as the use of biomarkers and new diagnostic tests to identify individuals at high risk.