Published on January 20, 2009
ProHealth Care Only Site in Wisconsin Participating in Landmark Women's Heart Study
ProHealth Care's Regional Heart and Vascular Center and Women's Center has partnered with Yale researchers to launch VIRGO (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes in Young AMI Patients). ProHealth Care is the only site in the state to participate in this groundbreaking study of young women with heart disease.
"The aim of the trial is to determine gender differences related to the treatment and outcome of young patients age 18 to 55, with acute myocardial infarction," says ProHealth Care Cardiologist and Principal Investigator Dr. Richard Staudacher. "The study will try to determine what differences exist between men and women when it comes to treatment during and after a heart attack. Ultimately the study will help determine whether specific therapy for AMI is needed for women compared to men."
VIRGO Study
The study will follow 3,000 patients for up to 20 years. In addition to looking at sex differences and outcomes following a myocardial infarction, the study will look at sex differences in demographic, clinical and psychosocial risk factors and at quality of care and follow up. The study will also look for sex differences in selected biochemical markers following a myocardial infarction.
Over the next three years VIRGO as a whole hopes to enroll 2,000 women aged 55 and younger with 1,000 men for comparison. ProHealth Care anticipates enrolling 40 of these women.
"Most women in this age group are relatively protected from heart disease; however, prior research indicates that young women have a much greater risk of dying after a heart attack than similarly aged men. This study will be the first to focus on this high risk - and highly unstudied - group," says Dr. Judith Lichtman, Yale University VIRGO Co-Principal Investigator.
VIRGO at ProHealth Care
In November, Dr. Staudacher began enrolling patients at ProHealth Care. "I am enthusiastic that ProHealth Care has been chosen as one of the sites for this important national trial," says Dr. Staudacher. "Taking part in NIH clinical trials further enhances the credibility of our Cardiology research program."
Patients are asked to consider enrollment when they are in the hospital following their heart attack. If they agree, they answer a few questions that day and then have a lab draw in four to six weeks. Afterward, Yale researchers contact the patients at six months, one year and annually thereafter as funding permits.
The $10,000 cost of the VIRGO Study at ProHealth Care was funded by a grant from WomenConnected. Yale receives funding for VIRGO from the National Institutes of Health.
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