American Heart Association (AHA) – Atrial Fibrillation Research Centers
The American Heart Association—the world’s leading voluntary organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke—has awarded research grants totaling more than $28 million to scientific teams to create a new research network focused on understanding the causes of atrial fibrillation (AFib). The new knowledge they discover will provide a basis to generate more effective ways to treat and prevent the disease.
Northwestern University Atrial Fibrillation Center
At Northwestern, a $3.7 million grant funds research specifically on how atrial fibrillation develops and how it causes stroke, the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States. The new knowledge base this network discovers is expected to provide a basis to generate more effective ways to treat and prevent atrial fibrillation. The Northwestern AF Center is part of a wider AHA funded Strategically Focused Research Network (SFRN). For details, see AHA awards more than $28 million for new atrial fibrillation research centers to improve patient outcomes
AF SFRN Center Vision and Synergy
The multidisciplinary team of investigators in Northwestern’s SFRN Center on AF consists of experienced scientists working together, some for up to 20 years, to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with this common rhythm disorder. Though our collective efforts have been impressive thus far, we recognize that many of our research contributions have been achieved while working in intellectual “silos”. As a result, we believe that the potential of the highly accomplished researchers at Northwestern has not yet been fully realized. This Center grant provides an invaluable opportunity to bring together the diverse and multidisciplinary expertise already present at Northwestern University, along with our new colleagues at Midwestern University, to work in a more interactive and synergistic effort. We come to this process with complementary research interests and expertise that will allow us to improve understanding of the atrial myopathy using different research methods and perspectives, and working together closely, we expect to achieve a major improvement in the underlying processes that lead to AF and AF-related brain insults.
Administrative Contact
Anna Huskin, RN, BSN, CCRC
Program Development Manager
Clinical Trials Unit
Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
676 N. Saint Clair, Suite 1700
Chicago, IL 60611
312.695.4067 Office
312.695.6854 Fax
Anna.huskin@nm.org