Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS)
What is the goal of the CHS?
The NHLBI has pioneered research that helped shape the understanding of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in middle-aged Americans. The goal of the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) is to identify risk factors for cardiovascular disease related to the onset of coronary heart disease and stroke in adults aged 65 or older. The CHS also serves as a platform to investigate a variety of other research topics that impact older adults, such as pulmonary disorders, diabetes, kidney disease, vascular dementia, and frailty.
AT A GLANCE
- Since 1988, the CHS has aimed to identify risk factors related to the onset of coronary heart disease and stroke in adults aged 65 or older.
- Nearly 6,000 men and women were recruited from four communities for the study.
- CHS results have led to important advances in the understanding of heart disease and stroke, as well as of dementia, kidney disease, diabetes, and aging.
- Many important findings have come from collaborations between CHS and other studies to investigate genetic contributions to health conditions among many people.
- Data from the CHS has led to more than 2,000 published research papers.
What are the key findings of the CHS?
A major contribution of the CHS was to characterize the importance of subclinical cardiovascular disease, or cardiovascular disease that is present without specific symptoms. CHS investigators characterized a previously unrecognized form of heart failure that is especially common in older adults and were among the first to report on the importance of markers of inflammation in the development of cardiovascular disease. The CHS operationalized a definition for frailty, a syndrome that had been observed in the clinic by doctors but not characterized. Another key finding of the CHS was recognizing an improved blood measure for capturing the importance of reduced kidney function as a cardiovascular risk factor.
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Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS)
How is the CHS conducted?
The study recruited 5,888 men and women aged 65 or older in four U.S. communities—Sacramento, CA; Hagerstown, MD; Winston-Salem, NC; and Pittsburgh, PA—conducting annual clinical exams between 1989 and 1999. CHS research was conducted with an emphasis on subclinical measures, or measures of disease without signs and symptoms that are detectable by physical examination or laboratory test. Extensive initial physical and laboratory evaluations were performed to identify the presence and severity of cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and pre-diabetes; subclinical disease, such as carotid artery atherosclerosis, left ventricular enlargement, and transient ischemia; and cardiovascular disease that has obvious signs and symptoms. These exams permitted evaluation of cardiovascular risk factors in older adults, particularly in groups previously under-represented in studies, such as women, African-Americans, and adults aged 65 or older.
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Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS)
FEATURE
In 1948, President Truman signed legislation that created what is now the NHLBI to address America's emerging cardiovascular disease epidemic. In the decades since its founding, the NHLBI has funded research that has led to a dramatic 40 percent reduction in annual deaths from both heart disease and stroke and is now averting over 1 million deaths annually from coronary heart disease – a phenomenal return on the nation’s public investment in medical research.