SWHR ISIS Network on Cardiovascular Disease

June 2009 – Present

This Network is currently in its third year of existence after nine official meetings. During the first year, the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Network solidified its core group of Network members, elected Dr. Noel Bairey-Merz as Chair, and defined its mission and vision statements.

Mission Statement: Promote interdisciplinary and translational research that defines sex and gender differences in pathophysiology, health care delivery, and treatment effectiveness to reduce cardiovascular disease burden.

Vision Statement: To improve cardiovascular health for women and men across their lifespan.

Achievements

Publications

• Peer-Reviewed Publications
• Miller VM, Kaplan JR, Schork NJ, Ouyang P, Berga SL, Wenger NK, Shaw LJ, Webb RC, Mallampalli M, Steiner M, Taylor DA, Bairey Merz CN, Reckelhoff JF. Strategies and methods to study sex differences in cardiovascular structure and function: a guide for basic scientists. Biol Sex Differences [Internet]. 2011 Dec 12;2:14. Available from: http://www.bsd-journal.com/content/2/1/14/abstract

• Advocacy Documents
• 2011 10Q Report: Advancing women's heart health through improved research diagnosis and treatment.
  Read the report

Pilot Projects

• Title: Does Vascular Dysfunction Precede Preeclamptic Pregnancy? Feasibility of Arterial Tonography in a Pre-pregnancy Cohort
• PIs and Collaborators: Janet Rich-Edwards, ScD, MPH, Nanette Wenger, MD, MACC, MACP, FAHA, Noel Bairy Merz, MD, FACC, FAHA, Chrisandra Shufelt, MS, MD (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center), and Davaasambuu Ganmaa, MD, PhD (Harvard School of Public Health)r. Ri

• Title: Hypertensive Pregnancy Disorders as Risk Factors for Future Cardiovascular Disease in Mothers and Offsprings
• PIs and Collaborators: Virginia Miller, PhD, MBA, Pamela Ouyang, MBBS, Leslee Shaw, PhD, Janet Rich-Edwards, ScD, MPH, and Vesna Garovic, MD (Mayo Clinic)

• Title: Cardiotonic Steroids and Vascular Complications of Preeclampsia
• PIs and Collaborators: Clinton Webb, PhD, Meir Steiner, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Jane Reckelhoff, PhD, Virginia Miller, PhD, MBA, Styliani Goulopoulou, PhD (Georgia Health Sciences University), and Takauki Matsumoto, PhD (Georgia Health Sciences University)

• Title: Does Pre-eclampsia Predispose Females to Early Cardiovascular-renal Disease with Aging?
• PIs and Collaborators: Jane Reckelhoff, PhD, Clinton Webb, PhD, Virginia Miller, PhD, MBA, Doris Taylor, PhD, and Sarah Berga, MDs

Symposia Presented

October 2011: American Physiological Society Conference: Physiology of Cardiovascular Disease: Gender Disparities

• Speakers:
• Sarah Berga, MD: PCOS, Stress-Induced Anovulation, and CVD
• Noel Bairey Merz, MD, FACC, FAHA: Women and Ischemic Heart Disease
• Pamela Ouyang, MBBS: Early Menopause and Cardiovascular Disease
• Janet Rich-Edwards, ScD, MPH: Pregnancy Complications Predict Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Women: Is this Useful to Know?
• Doris Taylor, PhD: Sex Cells and Matrix: Cardiac Regeneration in 2011
• Meir Steiner, MD, PhD, FRCPC: Sex Differences in Depression and Cardiovascular Disease
• Nanette Wenger, MD, MACC, MACP: The Feminine Face of Heart Disease: What Do We Know About Angina in Women?

Members