13 October 2010
NSW researchers form a groundbreaking collective to put
cardiovascular disease at the heart of the State
Forty of the State’s most eminent researchers in the field of heart disease, stroke,
diabetes and kidney disease will rally together for the first time to tackle
cardiovascular disease head-on, as NSW continues to fall behind other states in the
amount of national funding for cardiovascular research.
The NSW Cardiovascular Research Network (CVRN), is made up of members from
22 universities and Institutes across NSW, and was established as a result of funding
from the Heart Foundation and the NSW Government.
Tonight, the researchers will come together for the first time, in an innovative meeting
at Parliament House, to share and combine their resources, and discover how their
combined research will redefine the future treatment of cardiovascular disease,
Australia’s biggest killer.
Cardiovascular disease claims the life of one Australian every 11 minutes and costs
the health system $12 billion annually. In NSW 35% of all deaths are from
cardiovascular disease.
Between 2004-2009, NSW received just 31 per cent of the NHMRC’s cardiovascular
research funding, compared to Victoria’s 43 per cent, despite the fact that we have a
population of 7.2M versus Victoria’s 5.5M.
“The fact is, cardiovascular disease continues to kill more Australians every year than
any other disease. It kills more people than all forms of cancer combined, and in
NSW we have some of the most innovative and outstanding researchers who are
tackling CVD head-on,” said Kristina Cabala, CVRN Director at the Heart Foundation.
“But New South Wales has fallen behind other states in the amount of funding
received for cardiovascular research. The CVRN has established a system through
which our greatest researchers can network and collaborate on projects together, by
providing a tremendous springboard for ideas. This combined forces approach to
research is truly groundbreaking in the leverage it provides.” added Ms Cabala.
Members of the CVRN include leading researchers from Sydney University, University
of NSW and Newcastle University, The Hunter Medical Research Institute, Victor
Chang Cardiac Research Institute, The George Institute for Global Health, Heart
Research Institute, Garvan Institute, Sax Institute and Kolling Institute, as well as the
key teaching hospitals.
CVRN is also supporting young researchers through Career Development Awards
and Fellowships, which in turn keeps expertise within the state. Tonight at the
Research Showcase, the CVRN will award a Career Development Award to up and
coming Sydney researcher, Associate Professor Vlado Perkovic, for his work on heart
disease in patients with chronic kidney disease.
“People with early kidney disease are at substantially increased risk of having a heart
attack or stroke, while those with severe kidney disease requiring dialysis, are more
than 20 times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease,” said Associate Professor
Perkovic, from the George Institute for Global Health.
One in six Australians is affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD), but most people
with CKD do not die of kidney failure. Instead, around 40-50 per cent of people with
CKD die from heart disease.
“Despite being an extremely high risk group, there are no clear guidelines on how to
treat heart complications caused by chronic kidney disease. My research aims to
assess the benefits and risks associated with a range of treatments in order to identify
the best strategies moving forward,” added A/Prof Perkovic.
Perkovic will receive $400,000 over four years from the CVRN to continue his work.
“Vlado’s work demonstrates the importance of collaboration between research fields
such as heart disease and kidney disease, which is exactly what the CVRN has been
established to facilitate,” added Ms Cabala.
In addition, the CVRN has awarded two Research Development Grants to outstanding
collaborative research proposals.
One grant will support the establishment of a state-wide Network of Excellence to
focus on congenital heart disease, which affects one in a hundred babies. The other
will use the unique NSW health and research database of over 260,000 patients, in
the “45 and Up” study, to examine what contributes to the development of heart and
kidney disease, diabetes and stroke in real patients as they age and the impact of the
healthcare they receive.
Event details:
What: State of the Heart. Introducing the NSW Cardiovascular Research Network
Where: Strangers Dining Room, NSW Parliament House
When: Wednesday 13 October 2010
Who: Dr Norman Swan, Dr Andrew McDonald – NSW parliamentary secretary for
health , 40 eminent researchers and officials from leading Research Institutes,
Universities and Hospitals including Prof Carol Pollock – Kolling Institute; Prof Chris
Levi – HMRI, Prof John Chalmers – The George Institute, Prof David Celermajer –
Sydney University, Prof Richmond Jeremy – Sydney University, Prof Katherine
Samaras – The Garvan, Prof Len Kritharides – Concord Hospital, Prof Lynne Pressley
–
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
Time: 5.30pm start till 7.00pm
Contact: Kristina Cabala, Director, NSW Cardiovascular Research Network, Heart
Foundation. Mobile 0418 979 646 or Direct line (02) 9219 2407.
ENDS
Media Contact: Kerry Kalcher - Mobile 0401 672 128 or Direct line (02) 9219 2433
NEWS 
