JACKSON, Miss. — Heart studies in Massachusetts and Mississippi are teaming up to better understand why people respond differently to treatments for cardiovascular disease.
Researchers want to tailor heart-disease treatment for individuals. The $30 million study will be funded by the American Heart Association over the next five years.
The effort, still in the framework stages, would link the Framingham heart study in Massachusetts with the Jackson heart study in Mississippi.
“There are new opportunities to dig deeper and broader in the science to understand the causes of heart disease and stroke,” said University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones, who founded the Jackson study of more than 5,000 African-Americans.
It was meant to supplement the 65-year-old Framingham study, which had a low proportion of black participants.
There are already connections between the Jackson study – a joint effort among the University of Mississippi, Jackson State University and Tougaloo College – and the Framingham study run by Boston University.
For example, Dr. Ervin Fox did work in Massachusetts before he started research in Jackson, and he has continued to work with the Framingham researchers, including on his current study of arterial function.
“We’re doing so much good research with the Framingham group already,” Fox said.
On Monday, Fox and his associates performed arterial scans on Alberta Fox, a 76-year-old Jackson school bus attendant. Epps’ mother had a stroke, and her father died from a heart attack 11 years ago.
“I have a touch of high blood pressure,” she said. “It’s not bad.”
Epps said she’s been pleased to be part of the program, in part because she feels someone is keeping an eye on her health, even though that’s not the primary purpose of the study.
“I think it’s a good program for me and not only me, but lots more,” Epps said.
Mississippi is fertile ground for research, because there’s so much heart disease.
The black participants in the Jackson study are more likely than other Americans to be obese and get diabetes, ailments associated with high blood pressure and other heart problems.
Thus a motivating factor behind the AHA effort is to try to personalize treatment for someone such as Epps.
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