New funding for research into heart disease

NEWS RELEASE – TUESDAY 23 AUGUST 2016

New funding for research into heart disease

The Heart Foundation has today announced $1.5 million in new funding for life-saving research into heart disease, New Zealand’s leading cause of death.

This year’s funding round includes 12 project grants, five Fellowships, three Overseas Training and Research Fellowships, and five summer studentships.

Among the successful applicants is Dr Ruth Cunningham, from the University of Otago (Wellington), who has been awarded a $148,000 project grant to investigate ways of managing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in people with mental illness. Adults using mental health services in New Zealand are twice as likely to die before the age of 65 compared to other Kiwis, and many of these deaths are caused by CVD, she explains.

“The increased burden of CVD experienced by people with serious mental illness is not adequately accounted for by our current risk prediction tools,” says Dr Cunningham.

“This will be the first time CVD risk factors and outcomes for people in contact with mental health services have been documented in New Zealand. Our aim is to create a tool that better predicts the risk of CVD in this group.”

Pinnacle Midlands Health Network has been awarded a $15,000 project grant to trial a new method of assessing chest pain among people in rural Waikato.

Pinnacle has developed a rural chest pain pathway that will allow low-risk patients in rural communities to be safely assessed by their general practice, rather than travelling significant distances to hospital.

“Our organisation serves one of the largest rural populations in New Zealand. It’s our focus to provide rural general practice with tools and pathways that enable patients to be treated by the right person, at the right place, at the lowest cost to the health system. This pathway contributes to that goal” says John Macaskill-Smith, CEO, Pinnacle, Midland Health Network

“Pinnacle has invested project time and network funding into developing the rural chest pain pathway and we are delighted to accept this grant”.

Funding has also been awarded to Dr Katrina Poppe, from the University of Auckland, who will use a hand-carried echocardiography tool to assess the prevalence of structural heart disease in people with atrial fibrillation, one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing forms of heart disease.

Heart Foundation Medical Director Gerry Devlin says ongoing research is critical in our efforts to reduce deaths from heart disease in New Zealand.

“Research is vital because it allows us to learn more about the causes of different heart conditions, then get better at preventing and treating them. Thanks to our generous supporters, we’re able to continue funding high-calibre research right here in New Zealand.”

Gerry said this year’s applications align strongly with the Heart Foundation’s mission to prevent premature deaths from heart disease and offer a better quality of life to those living with it.

“Among the research projects and Fellowships we’re funding, there’s a particular emphasis on reducing inequalities in cardiovascular (CVD) rates – between ethnicities, socio-economic groups, genders, and even between those with and without mental illness.”

The Heart Foundation is New Zealand’s leading independent funder of heart research, having invested more than $55 million into research and cardiology training since 1970.

Its 2016 funding round spans a range of clinical, biomedical and public health topics.

Today’s funding announcement brings the charity’s total funding in 2016 to $2.2 million.

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