In February, we often think about candy hearts, roses and Valentine’s Day, but February is also American Heart Month, a time when we place particular focus on cardiovascular health.
Many Carolina clinicians, researchers and faculty members work all year long to improve heart health for everyone. They help North Carolinians around the state live healthier lives by working to prevent heart issues through interventions and innovative health care.
Heart health research is an effort that spans our entire campus.
From a UNC School of Nursing professor building an intervention program that helps patients catch early symptoms of a heart attack before it occurs to UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy researchers developing new non-invasive drug delivery approaches for heart attack patients to UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health doctors treating heart disease, Tar Heels are creating a healthier tomorrow.
One out of every five women will have a second heart attack within a year of having the first one. Leslie Davis at the UNC School of Nursing is working to change that statistic by empowering North Carolinians to protect themselves through engagement in their self-care and to take action should symptoms recur.
Boyce Griffith and his team in the College of Arts and Sciences research and develop beating heart simulations, modeling the interactions of the heart’s fluid movement, physical structure and electrical system to improve both the prediction and treatment of heart conditions and the design of cardiac medical devices.
UNC School of Medicine researchers and collaborators use a population health intervention to prevent an estimated 6,000 heart attacks, strokes and deaths due to cardiovascular disease at 219 North Carolina clinics.
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the U.S. — but what if there was a way to regenerate healthy heart cells? Cue Li Qian, who developed a new method for altering the makeup of damaged heart cells in humans. Using viruses as their messenger, they can send a cocktail of carefully selected DNA into a heart’s scar tissue, where they trigger the conversion of fibroblasts into healthy muscle cells.
Ph.D. candidate Jamshaid Shahir’s stem cell research is at the forefront of discovery in the field of computational biology, working to find a way to repair hearts damaged from heart attacks.
As a member of the DECIPHeR Alliance, Carolina is tackling the leading cause of death in the U.S. – heart and lung disease in vulnerable populations.
When prevention doesn't hit the mark, Carolina continues to lead the way in helping North Carolinians heal and continue on with their lives.
Researchers and clinicians are providing life-saving care through UNC Health and making discoveries to help people recover faster, stronger and safer.
Learn more about the Frink family's journeyAfter being diagnosed with severe dilated cardiomyopathy, a 5-month-old infant from Brunswick County was facing an uncertain future. However, she was able to beat the odds after becoming UNC Children’s very first Berlin Heart EXCOR™ left ventricular assist device recipient – bridging her to a new heart just 11 days before her first birthday.
Learn more about Jahliah and her careAt 10 years old, Jahliah Parker likes to have fun with her siblings and play on her Nintendo Switch. She is an ordinary kid except for one little thing, her congenital heart condition. Jahliah suffers from Ebstein’s Anomaly, a rare disease treated with world-class care at UNC Health.
Learn more about the researchA heart attack can often lead to heart failure, bringing on a whole new set of risks for patients. Surgery and a direct injection of medicine into the heart muscle are the most common ways to prevent heart failure after an attack. A new approach from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy could set patients on a course for recovery using non-invasive therapeutics.
Saroja Voruganti uses genetics to improve people’s nutrition — and she’s helping the next generation of scientists do the same. One of Voruganti’s goals is to unpack how nutrition, genetics and their affect on disease vary among different populations.
Nearly 35% of Americans are considered obese — a diagnosis that has become so common the American Medical Association recognizes it as a chronic disease. While the diagnosis is the same for all, the treatments vary; what works for one person typically doesn’t work for another. In response, researchers from across UNC-Chapel Hill have joined forces to tackle this ever-growing problem.
Good nutrition can make a world of difference when it comes to preventing health issues — including heart problems. The Tar Heels behind the Culinary Medicine Club are working to empower students and community members to embrace food as medicine through workshops, cooking sessions and recipes.