Getting to the Heart of the Matter

The grant, a $7 million five-year award, will fund four projects as well as related core services and laboratories.

Aruni Bhatnagar, project leader and a professor of medicine in the U of L division of cardiology, says various studies of diseases over the last decade have shown a link between air pollution and daily mortality rates.

"We know that on days when there is a significant increase in air pollution, there is about a 6 percent increase in mortality over the next 24 hours—most of those being cardiopulmonary deaths," he explains.

Of the 300,000 sudden cardiac deaths in the United States each year, it is now estimated that 60,000 to 80,000 of those may be linked to air pollution, Bhatnagar says.

However, he adds, few have tried to determine the relationship between specific components of air pollution and the progression of heart disease.

All four projects funded by the grant involve determining the various effects of different aldehydes on the heart's system. Aldehydes are a group of chemicals in the air that can be found in high quantities in exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke. In most cities, aldehydes make up more than 50 percent of organic air pollution. High levels of these chemicals also have been detected in fried foods and fats.

The projects seek to answer four basic questions:

• How do aldehydes affect heart tissue and how does the cardiovascular system handle the challenge of foreign chemicals?
• How, and how quickly, do aldehydes accelerate heart disease?
• How do aldehydes interact with blood cells to cause inflammation in the heart and blood vessels?
• How do high-levels of aldehydes raise the risk of heart attack and worsen heart failure?

The principal investigators—all U of L professors—are Bhatnagar, cardiology; Stanley D'Souza, physiology; Sumanth Prabhu, cardiology; and Russell Prough, biochemistry.

Aruni Bhatnagar, professor of medicine in the U of L division of cardiology, is leading a project in a new research discipline: envrironmental cardiology.

A key element to the success of the projects and to winning the PPG award is the presence of leading-edge core laboratories. U of L's bioanalytical core laboratory directed by William Pierce will analyze molecular structure for all four projects using mass spectrometers. An additional core lab, managed by the University of Alabama at Birmingham , will conduct breathing tests. Jewish Hospital will provide additional lab support.

"To be selected as the scientific 'birthplace' for environmental cardiology—an entirely new discipline—demonstrates the level of research excellence and national recognition that U of L has achieved," says U of L President James Ramsey. "Dr. Bhatnagar and the entire team of scientists recognized by this award are scientific and academic leaders in every sense of the word."

Unlike most NIH awards to individual investigators, Bhatnagar explains, PPG recognition is important because "it is awarded to institutions that show a collection of leading investigators who work collaboratively to approach a question from many sides." He adds, "It raises the academic and scientific bar not just for the participants, but for the entire university.

"This is one of the most prestigious grants ever awarded to the University of Louisville," says Dr. Joel Kaplan, executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs. "It is nationally very competitive, and we are proud of this distinguished group of researchers.

"U of L is now the home of environmental cardiology, and this research should lead to an improved standard of living for all patients in the polluted Ohio River Valley."