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C Lenfant

Publications and source records attributed to C Lenfant.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Increasing the number of competing awards at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: projections of a model.

In the mid 1980s, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) sought to extend the benefits of longer award terms to the research community by supporting requests for longer award terms that were scientifically justified. Although investigators welcomed the resultant increase in support stability, concerns were raised about the institute's ability to fund competing awards. A model was developed to assess alternative policies that might result in increased numbers of competing awards. Assuming that the NHLBI receives budget increases sufficient only to keep pace with inflation, the transitory effects of moving to the current policy of longer award terms should largely have passed by 1993. In the long term, the annual number of competing awards will exceed the average number funded between 1980 and 1983. To increase the annual number of competing awards over the long term would require either a reduction in the current percentage of five-year awards or an increase in the total number of active grants. A reduction in the current percentage of five-year awards would subject productive scientists to greater instability in their research support (that is, they would have to apply more frequently for grants) and would introduce greater variability in the number of competing awards available each year. A substantial increase in the total number of active NHLBI awards would be necessary to return the institute's competing awards to the levels of 1984 to 1988.

Financing, Government↗
PubMed1991

[Demographic trends and the burden of cardiovascular diseases].

The current burden of cardiovascular disease in the U.S. population and recent trends in morbidity, mortality and risk factors provide a perspective on heart disease in the 21st century. Projections of demographic trends for populations and predictions of the frequency, distribution and characteristics of cardiovascular disease in the future are offered with numerous reservations and subject to revision. Nonetheless, we can expect to see more patients with cardiovascular disease in the next few decades and these patients are likely to be older and to be from the less well-educated and poorer socioeconomic segments of society. Improvements in treatment for the initial cardiovascular event may result in increased survival of women and men suffering permanent damage or disability. There will also be better opportunities to prevent cardiovascular diseases through modifying risk factors in the general population and in high risk individuals. Non-invasive procedures will also increase opportunities for detecting and reversing preclinical atherosclerosis through hygienic and therapeutic measures.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1990

Implants, transplants, and other parts of the medicine of the future.

Today, therapies that rely on adding something "more than natural" to the patient are a commonplace of medical practice. Although we may view such therapies as recent developments of biomedical science and engineering, they are actually the culmination of efforts to replicate, replace, and enhance parts of the human anatomy that date from the early days of recorded history. A review of some of those early efforts is an instructive way to begin. It helps us to appreciate that current developments at the forefront of biomedical science and engineering will soon transform the implants and transplants of today into the relatively primitive implants and transplants of the past. A discussion of the present state of implants and transplants follows. It is necessary to allow us to appreciate the great potential offered by current biomedical science and engineering for future developments in the therapies of the "more than natural." And then, finally, we can offer a present view of the implants, transplants, and other parts of the medicine of the future.

Artificial Organs↗
PubMed1990

Epidemiology of blood pressure and predictors of hypertension.

Hypertension is a clinical disease with a prevalence sufficiently high in acculturated societies to warrant it being designated a serious public health problem. In population studies, blood pressure has been found to be a continuously distributed risk variable with mortality directly related to the level of blood pressure. Thus, hypertension is both a disease and a risk factor. Classic genetic studies suggest that the predisposition for the development of hypertension is an inherited trait that becomes manifest when coupled with one or more environmental insults. Risk factors for hypertension include age, weight, sedentary lifestyle, excessive dietary sodium intake, and excessive alcohol intake. Current and future research is being directed toward the identification of predictors of hypertension that can be conceptualized according to demographic, clinical, genetic, challenge-response, and laboratory predictors. The intent is to identify subjects with a high probability for the development of hypertension in advance of the rise in blood pressure so that appropriate interventions can be implemented as early as possible.

Child↗
PubMed1990

Considerations for a national heart attack alert program.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the leading cause of death in the United States--in women as well as men. In 1987, CHD was responsible for 512,138 deaths, of which 253,542 deaths were attributed to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and accounted for over $43 billion in direct and indirect costs. The disease spares no one. Primary prevention is clearly important, but for those in whom primary prevention has not been applied or has failed, acting to minimize the effect of a heart attack is of paramount importance. Many of its victims do not obtain appropriate medical care, or obtain it too late for the latest lifesaving technologies to be effective. The goal of treatment is to prevent death and to salvage as much heart tissue as possible. To achieve this goal, it is essential to minimize the time from the first symptoms and signs to treatment. Opportunities exist at each phase of an evolving AMI to intervene promptly and appropriately to prevent sudden death and to preserve cardiac muscle and thereby reduce CHD morbidity and mortality. Yet, formidable problems also exist. These and other issues are presently being studied by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute staff and advisors in consideration of whether to establish a national educational program aimed at reducing CHD morbidity and mortality through the rapid identification and treatment of those with AMI.

Coronary Disease↗
PubMed1990

The vanishing lag from precept to practice.

Advances in biomedical research are being translated into clinical practice at a rate that is unprecedented, and yet there is reason to believe that the pace is accelerating. Current research directions offer great promise for improved methods of disease prevention and treatment. It is an especially satisfying time for young investigators who are just embarking on a career in research. They will experience both the gratification of discovery and the satisfaction of seeing their work contribute to improved public health.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Regional and racial differences among stroke victims in the United States.

Examination of the 1980 age-adjusted mortality data by geographic region shows that death rates for black males and females are higher in the Southeast than in other parts of the United States. The reason for these higher death rates was sought by examining the NHANES II data. The prevalence of hypertension among black females was significantly higher in the Southeast (44%) than in all other regions (34%). The prevalence of hypertension among males, both black and white, and among white females in the Southeast was similar to that in all other regions. Although black and white hypertensives in the Southeast were as aware of their condition as hypertensives in the rest of the nation, the rate of hypertension control among black females in the Southeast was significantly lower than elsewhere. In addition, both male and female black hypertensives in the Southeast were more likely to be obese than their counterparts in the other regions. Analysis of smoking patterns showed that among hypertensives in the Southeast, only white males had higher rates of smoking than their counterparts elsewhere in the United States.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Research programs of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A.

While the NHLBI is authorized and funded by the United States government, the Institute recognizes that advances in the science related to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases and to the management and development of blood resources can be achieved most effectively through active participation in the international research enterprise. Through its policy of encouraging rapid publication and dissemination of the results of the research it sponsors and conducts, the Institute manifests its commitment to insuring that the associated public health benefits are shared as widely as possible. In addition to numerous informal contacts and exchanges of information the NHLBI actively pursues and participates in an extensive international network of collaborative arrangements. The Institute has established formal cooperative programs with 15 nations that span 5 continents, and participates in cooperative activities with another six. The benefits of such efforts are clear to the NHLBI and we hope to its partners as well. It is not just that international cooperation enables us to identify those aspects of the development of cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases that are influenced by diet and culture and those that are not. Through continued international cooperation duplicative efforts can be avoided thereby effectively expanding the resources available to support the research that will reduce the international burden imposed by diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1987

Celebrating 40 years of the Framingham Heart Study.

The 40th anniversary of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provided an opportunity to pay tribute to the Framingham Heart Study, the landmark epidemiological study that examined longitudinally the development of coronary heart disease in a general adult population. The Framingham Heart Study pioneered the concept that certain items, known eventually as risk factors, were associated with the development of heart disease. The concept of risk factors spawned a new generation of studies aimed at intervening to reduce the impact of risk factors on health. As part of its celebration of the 40th anniversary--and the 100th anniversary of the National Institutes of Health--the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, sponsored poster and essay contests for Framingham, Mass., students to commemorate the event. This article recaps the history of the Framingham Heart Study, describes the poster and essay contests, and outlines current and future involvement of the NHLBI in school health research.

Cerebral Infarction↗