By Katie Potzick
Due to a $600,000 grant from Anthem Blue Shield, the University of Louisville will be able to head a cardiovascular study that will help citizens in the Western Louisville area without access to quality health care.
The study will not only provide valuable research, but will also help West Louisville residents found to be at risk for cardiovascular disease to receive follow up screenings and aid.
“This is a great example of a community partnership with a common goal,” said U of L President James Ramsey.
In 2007, residents of “Rubbertown,” a Louisville neighborhood that is home to many industrial plants, were screened by U of L and the Metro Department of Health and Wellness for a variety of conditions from cancer to diabetes.
The residents were found to have cardiovascular risks and will now be re-screened and their results studied to see if they’re influenced by air pollutants.
According to Aruni Bhatnagar, head of the Environmental Cardiology program and the doctor that will be studying the patients’ data, working with residents of Rubbertown seemed like a good starting point due to the living conditions that residents experience there.
“It is one of the most polluted sections in the country,” said Bhatnagar, who added that Rubbertown has the greatest concentration of synthetic rubber plants in Louisville. “And the people there are ill-served and inadequately cared for.”
According to Bhatnagar, the state of pollution in “Rubbertown” makes it an ideal site for participants, according to Bhatnager, because the study aims to discern the effect of a certain air pollutant produced there on the heart.
“We have been studying the severity of heart disease due to pollutants in mice for around six years,” said Bhatnagar of the project. “We now want to look at the relevance in a human population.”
The study will provide residents with health care and information about changing their life styles to achieve better health.
A team led by U of L cardiologist Samanth Prabhu will be screening the residents for cardiovascular risk and giving them thorough physical exams. The team will be looking at medical and family history, diet, physical activity and smoking to determine the cardiovascular risk.
After the screenings, the residents may choose to participate in the research study. According to the involved doctors, they are hoping for a total of 1,600 residents to participate in the two year study.
According to a statement by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kentucky President Deb Moessner, the grant is the largest one given to the foundation by Kentucky in recent history.
“When you consider the number of Kentuckians who suffer from heart disease, it is clear that more public-private partnerships are needed,” said Moessner.
“Working with West Louisville residents to improve their health is at the heart of our mission as a premier metropolitan research university, which includes improving life in our community and promoting equity and social justice,” Ramsey said.
To help achieve this goal, the doctors will be hard at work with their research and treatment for this project.
“We know that economic disparities lead to health disparities,” said Ramsey. “And we need to be part of the solution.”
