Children's Hospital Boston 300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 355-6000
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Clinical Services (Preventive Cardiology Clinic):
Preventive Cardiology Research
The medical staff at the Preventive Cardiology Clinic are committed to helping reduce high rates of heart disease in the United States, by heading it off at its earliest stages.

At a time when obesity and diabetes are on the rise among American children, the Preventive Cardiology team treats those who have these and other problems that may contribute to the development of heart disease in early adulthood.

As part of its mission to advance scientific understanding of atherosclerosis (the gradual hardening and narrowing of arteries that sets the stage for a heart attack or stroke) the Preventive Cardiology Clinic serves as the base of operations for a wide range of research programs. Research is aimed at furthering the understanding of the mechanisms behind atherosclerosis, as well as studying more effective and safe treatments for cholesterol and high blood pressure problems in childhood.

Preventive Cardiology Clinic researchers are involved with studies on the following topics:

  • Metabolic Syndrome - In 2004, results from the study, Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome in American Adolescents: Findings From the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, were published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, and The results of this study further underscore the need to start heart disease prevention efforts early in life.

  • Inflammation: - In 2006, a follow-up article was published in Clinical Chemistry explaining the findings of the 1988-1994 and 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys on Metabolic Syndrome.
    In recent years, inflammation has become a medical phenomenon, as researchers uncover its role in disease decelopment and doctors offer medical tests that measure inflammation and treatments aimed at controlling it. Numerous studies in adults suggest that inflammation, the body's way of responding to illness, plays a key role in atherosclerosis. Studies also show that the presence of high levels of the inflammation marker C-reactive protien (CRP) can predict heart attack or stroke in adults. Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston are studying inflammation in children at risk for early atherosclerosis.

  • Nutritional treatment of overweight adolescents with cardiovascular risk factors -Preventive Cardiology Clinic clinicians will be enrolling overweight teens with high triglycerides, low HDL (good cholesterol), high blood pressure, and/or insulin resistance, in a study comparing the effects of two diets on modifying these risk factors. The study provides participants with all of their food for 8 weeks at an amount designed to induce weight loss; study personnel monitor participants closely for changes in weight and risk factors.

  • Hypertriglceridemia in Children: To better understand elevated triglyceride levels in childhood, clinicians in the Preventitive Cardiology Clinic are reviewing the characteristics of children with this disorder, examining medications, reviewing family history, weight, blood pressure, recommended dietary changes, and accompanying medical conditions, as well as changes in triglycerides over time. Clinicians hope this will help them take better care of children with high triglycerides. An interventional trial of omega-3 fatty acids is planned in the near future.
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