Improving Health

Heart, Lung, and Kidney Health

Artificial Heart Valves

NIH supported the development of the first artificial heart valves, leading to the first successful artificial replacement of the mitral valve鈥攖he valve that connects the left chambers of the heart鈥攁t the NIH Clinical Center in 1960. Today, over 182,000 heart valve replacements are performed each year in the U.S. to treat irreparable heart valve disease.

Image credit:聽NIH

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  • In 1960, the first successful artificial replacements of two of the four types of heart valves鈥攁ortic and mitral鈥攚ere conducted.
  • The first successful artificial mitral valve replacement was carried out by NIH researcher, Dr. Nina Braunwald鈥攖he first female cardiac surgeon and the first woman to perform open-heart surgery.
  • About 2.5% of the U.S. population has heart valve disease, which occurs when one of the four heart valves is damaged鈥攂ecoming stiff, narrow, or leaky鈥攄isrupting proper blood flow.
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Aspirin Guidance

NIH-funded research on aspirin鈥檚 risks and potential benefits for preventing heart disease challenged previously held assumptions on its benefits and led to revised usage guidelines. By following the guidelines, physicians are now less likely to prescribe unnecessary daily aspirin to older adults to prevent heart disease.

Image credit:聽FlairImages/iStock/Thinkstock

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  • In the past, doctors had encouraged adults without existing heart disease to consider taking low-dose aspirin daily to help prevent the first occurrence of a heart attack or stroke.
  • 聽NIH-funded research found that in healthy older adults, aspirin did not reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke. Those taking aspirin had an increased risk of bleeding, which was already a known risk of regular aspirin use.
  • In 2021, based on this research on aspirin, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force proposed changes in recommendations for aspirin use to prevent heart disease.
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Heart Disease

Deaths from heart disease fell 67.6% from 1969 to 2015, driven by research advances such as the NIH-funded Framingham Heart Study, which identified risk factors for heart disease and led to new prevention strategies.

Image credit:聽Daniel So帽茅/NCI

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  • The Framingham Heart Study and other NIH-supported research identified risk factors for heart disease, such as cholesterol, smoking, and high blood pressure.听
  • Approximately half the decline in heart disease deaths since the 1960s are due to changes in lifestyle and from medications developed to reduce these risk factors.听
  • Despite this decline, heart disease is still the leading cause of death in the U.S.
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Congenital Heart Disease

Decades of NIH-supported research led to advances in diagnosis, treatment, and newborn screening mandates for congenital heart disease (CHD). As a result, over 85% of children born with CHD now survive well into adulthood.

Image credit:聽Shutterstock

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  • CHD is the most common type of birth defect, affecting about 8 per 1000 live births in the U.S., and is the leading cause of infant death in the U.S.
  • NIH-supported research helped inform the HHS Secretary鈥檚 decision in 2011 to add CHD to the recommended uniform infant screening panel. Screening is now mandated in D.C. and all states but California, which does require that the screening be offered.
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Type 1 Diabetes

NIH-supported research has contributed to technologies that are giving the more than 1.8 million people in the U.S. with type 1 diabetes new options for more easily managing their disease, resulting in improved health and quality of life.

Image credit:聽Tandem Diabetes Care

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  • In the 1990s, NIH-supported research showed that intensive management of blood glucose levels reduced the risk of long-term complications from diabetes.听
  • Type 1 diabetes affects approximately 5% of the diagnosed diabetes cases in adults and the majority of diagnosed cases in children in the U.S.
  • Two FDA-approved technologies to manage type 1 diabetes include continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), which provide real-time data on blood glucose levels without the need for finger sticks, and artificial pancreas systems, which pair a CGM with an insulin pump to adjust insulin dosage automatically.
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Type 2 Diabetes

NIH research led to the development of medications to treat type 2 diabetes鈥攚hich affects more than 35 million people in the U.S.鈥攂y helping to lower blood glucose and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of death in people with diabetes.

Image credit:聽最新麻豆视频 Center for Biotechnology Information聽(https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Glucagon)

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  • Risk of early death for adults with diabetes is 60% higher than for adults without diabetes.
  • Decades of basic research supported by NIH laid the foundation for the development of two classes of diabetes drugs, GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors.
  • GLP-1 receptor agonists are also approved to treat obesity, a strong risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
  • SGLT2 inhibitors improve blood glucose control and can also reduce kidney and heart complications, two major causes of death in people with diabetes.
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Diabetes Prevention

NIH research showed that improvements in diet and physical activity can lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58% in adults at high risk. NIH support has helped to adapt the Diabetes Prevention Program鈥檚 (DPP) lifestyle-focused intervention, and it is now available in communities across the U.S. and is covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

Image credit:聽Darryl Leja, 最新麻豆视频 Human Genome Research Institute, NIH

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  • DPP showed that behavioral interventions, such as increased physical activity and healthier eating, could delay type 2 diabetes onset by 15 years.
  • NIH-supported research has made it possible to deliver adaptations of the DPP lifestyle intervention to millions of people at risk for diabetes in the U.S.听
  • DPP contributed to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force鈥檚 decision to recommend routine screening for type 2 diabetes in middle-aged and older U.S. adults with overweight or obesity.
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References

Artificial Heart Valves

  1. Collins JJ. N Engl J Med. 1991; 324(9)624-6. PMID: .
  2. Harken DE, et al. J of Thor and Cardio Surg. 1960; 40:744-62. PMID: .
  3. Braunwald NS, et al. J of Thor and Cardio Surg. 1960; 40:1-11. PMID:
  4. Report: Cardiac Surgery Market Size, Share, and Trend Analysis:聽
  5. Sabharwal N, et al. Tex Heart Inst J. 2017; 44(2)96-100. PMID: .
  6. Valvular Heart Disease:
  7. Frankel WC, et al. JAMA. 2021; 325(24)2512. PMID:
  8. Heart Valve Replacement:

  9. Aspirin Guidance

  10. Arnett DK, et al.听Circulation. 2019;140(11):e596-e646. PMID:聽.
  11. Article: Daily low-dose aspirin found to have no effect on healthy lifespan in older people:聽
  12. Article: Daily Aspirin May Not Benefit Healthy Older Adults:聽
  13. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: Task Force Issues Draft Recommendation Statement on Aspirin Use to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease:聽
  14. Final Recommendation Statement: Aspirin Use to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease: Preventive Medication:聽

Heart Disease

  1. Weir HK, et al.听Prev Chronic Dis. 2016;13:E157. PMID:聽.
  2. Levy D.听Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2008;7(9):715-715. PMID:聽.
  3. The Framingham Heart Study: Laying the Foundation for Preventive Health Care:聽/sites/default/files/about-nih/impact/framingham-heart-study.pdf
  4. Heart Disease Facts:聽

Congenital Heart Disease

  1. Gurvitz M, et al.听J Am Coll Cardiol. 2016;67(16):1956-64. PMID:聽.
  2. American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. 2018 AHA/ACC Guideline for the Management of Adults With Congenital Heart Disease: Executive Summary. 2018.听
  3. Interagency Coordinating Committee on Newborn and Child Screening (ICC): Screening for Critical Congenital Heart Disease:聽
  4. Actions in Support of Newborn Screening for Critical Congenital Heart Disease 鈥 United States, 2011鈥2018:聽
  5. Burns KM, et al.听Pediatr Cardiol. 2017;38(5):974-980. PMID:聽.
  6. What are Congenital Heart Defects?:聽

Type 1 Diabetes

  1. 最新麻豆视频 Diabetes Statistics Report: Estimates of Diabetes and Its Burden in the United States聽
  2. Brown SA, et al.听N Engl J Med. 2019;381(18):1707-1717. PMID:聽.听
  3. Breton MD, et al.听N Engl J Med. 2020;383(9):836-845. PMID:聽.
  4. Article: FDA Approves UVA-Developed Artificial Pancreas:聽
  5. Article: Artificial pancreas system better controls blood glucose levels than current technology:聽/news-events/news-releases/artificial-pancreas-system-better-controls-blood-glucose-levels-current-technology
  6. Article: Artificial pancreas effectively controls type 1 diabetes in children age 6 and up:聽/news-events/news-releases/artificial-pancreas-effectively-controls-type-1-diabetes-children-age-6
  7. Article: Bionic pancreas improves type 1 diabetes management compared to standard insulin delivery methods:聽/news-events/news-releases/bionic-pancreas-improves-type-1-diabetes-management-compared-standard-insulin-delivery-methods
  8. Article: Four pivotal NIH-funded artificial pancreas research efforts begin:聽/news-events/news-releases/four-pivotal-nih-funded-artificial-pancreas-research-efforts-begin

Type 2 Diabetes

  1. 最新麻豆视频 Diabetes Statistics Report: Estimates of Diabetes and Its Burden in the United States聽
  2. Diabetes Fast Facts:聽
  3. Prevalence of Obesity and Severe Obesity Among Adults: United States, 2017鈥2018:聽
  4. Wadden TA, et al.听JAMA. 2021;325(14):1403-1413. PMID:聽.听
  5. Article: FDA OKs Injectable Semaglutide for Chronic Weight Management:聽
  6. Abbasi J.听JAMA. 2021;326(2):121-123. PMID:聽.听
  7. Article: FDA Approves New Drug Treatment for Chronic Weight Management, First Since 2014:聽
  8. Yanovski SZ, et al.听JAMA. 2021;326(2):129-130. PMID:聽.
  9. Sanyal AJ, et al.听N Engl J Med. 2021;385(17):1559-1569. PMID:聽.听
  10. Article: Story of Discovery: SGLT2 inhibitors: harnessing the kidneys to help treat diabetes:聽

Diabetes Prevention

  1. A Snapshot: Diabetes in the United States:聽
  2. Diabetes Prevention Program:聽
  3. Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study:聽
  4. ClinicalTrials.gov Diabetes Prevention Program page:聽
  5. ClinicalTrials.gov Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study page聽
  6. NIDDK Central Repository: Diabetes Prevention Program:聽
  7. NIDDK Central Repository: Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study:聽
  8. dkNET Search for 鈥淒PP study鈥:聽
  9. dkNET Search Results for 鈥淒PPOS study鈥澛
  10. Type 2 Diabetes Knowledge Portal:聽
  11. Article: NIH study finds interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes give good return on investment:聽/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-finds-interventions-prevent-type-2-diabetes-give-good-return-investment
  12. Siu AL.听Ann Intern Med. 2015;163(11):861-8. PMID:聽.听
  13. Klabunde CN, et al.听Am J Prev Med. 2022;62(2):e77-e86. PMID:.听
  14. What Are Overweight and Obesity?:聽

This page last reviewed on December 8, 2023