AHFMR Interdisciplinary Team Grant on Understanding and Treating Diastolic Heart Failure: Novel Mechanisms, Diagnostics and Potential Therapeutics
The problem
Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot pump blood well enough to meet the demands of the body. These patients often have difficulty breathing, tire easily, and experience swollen legs and fluid in the lungs. In Canada, about 500,000 people have heart failure. Nearly half of those suffer from a specific type called diastolic heart failure when the heart muscle fails to properly relax after each heart beat. It is most often seen in the elderly, in women over 65, and those with high blood pressure or diabetes. This type of heart failure is often difficult to diagnose.
The team
This team of 22 researchers from the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary will unite scientists, physicians, nurses, and public health experts to address this serious issue.
The plan
The team will better define diastolic heart failure and its causes and develop new methods to clearly diagnose and treat the condition.
The outcomes
The knowledge will significantly improve the lives of people with this type of heart failure. Doctors and the general public will be better educated about the condition, and a training program will also be established to prepare the next generation of heart failure specialists.