CardioHealth Alliance is announcing a new project sponsored by Amgen aimed at assessing and gathering data regarding how to improve quality of care among patients hospitalized for ASCVD. This work, referred to as the “Test to Treat” project, will be led by cardiovascular disease prevention specialist Neha Pagidipati, MD, MPH.

ASCVD is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. and nearly 1 in 5 patients who have had a heart attack will have another cardiovascular event within one year. Appropriately managing LDL-C levels can significantly decrease a person’s chances of developing heart disease or experiencing a heart attack or stroke.

Unfortunately, however, patients with ASCVD are often discharged from the hospital without receiving testing or adequate therapy for lowering LDL-C. “Advancing appropriate testing and treatment of LDL-C is one of the greatest opportunities we have to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in our population,” said Neha J. Pagidipati, MD MPH.

This project, sponsored by Amgen and led by researchers at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), will aim to assess and gather data on how to improve the pre- and post-discharge testing and treatment of LDL-C in patients admitted to the hospital for ASCVD.

Dr. Pagidipati has conducted research on cardiometabolic disease prevention and lipid management for more than a decade. She is the Director of the Duke Cardiometabolic Disease Prevention Program, which focuses on behavior change and risk factor management in patients with a high risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

“Amgen and the CardioHealth Alliance are committed to reducing the number of heart attacks and strokes by 50% by 2030,” said Dr. Jyothis George, global & U.S. Medical Therapeutic area head, General Medicine, at Amgen. “With high LDL-C being widely recognized as the primary culprit for CV events among people with ASCVD, the CardioHealth Alliance study will help to educate on LDL-C and the benefits of testing, aimed at improving outcomes for patients at highest risk for a CV event.”

For more information, visit the cardiohealthalliance.org or contact CardioHealthAlliance@dm.duke.edu.