Cardiovascular Epidemiology
UT Southwestern Medical Center's Epidemiology faculty has helped the Division of Cardiology design and implement the Dallas Heart Study, a multiethnic population-based study of 6,101 adults from Dallas County, Texas. A major emphasis of the study is to better understand why heart disease is more frequent and causes greater mortality rates in black Americans.
After assisting with the initial study design, random sample selection, and survey, Epidemiology faculty assisted with a community clinical trial which demonstrated that blood pressure measurement by barbers can improve blood pressure control in black men with hypertension.
The biochemical, epidemiologic study has measured paraoxonase 1 (PON1) genotypes and isoenzyme activity levels in blood samples from more than 3,000 Dallas County residents enrolled in the Dallas Heart Study to test whether differences in the blood levels of these important enzymes are associated with atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Data analysis remains in progress.
References
Victor RG, Haley RW, Willett D, Peshock RG, Vaeth PC, Leonard D, Basit M, Cooper RS, Iannacchione VG, Visscher W, Staaf J, Hobbs HH for the Dallas Heart Study Investigators A population-based probability sample for the multidisciplinary study of ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease: Recruitment and validation in the Dallas Heart Study. American Journal of Cardiology 2004; 93:1473-1480.
Hess PL, Reingold JS, Jones J, Fellman MA, Knowles P, Ravenell JE, Kim S, Okoro, C, Ogunji R, Knowles P, Leonard D, Wilson RP, Haley RW, Ferdinand KC, Freeman A, Victor RG. Barbershops as hypertension detection, referral, and follow-up centers for African-American men. Hypertension 2007; 49: 1040-1046.
Victor RG, Leonard D, Hess P, Bhat DG, Jones J, Vaeth PAC, Ravenell J, Freeman A, Wilson RP, Haley RW. Factors associated with hypertension awareness, treatment, and control in Dallas County, Texas. Archives of Internal Medicine 2008; 168:1285-1293.
Victor RG, Ravenell JD, Freeman A, Leonard D, Bhat DG, Shafiq M, Knowles P, Storm JS, Adhikari E, Bibbins-Domingo K, Coxson PG, Pletcher MJ, Hannan P, Haley RW. Effectiveness of a barber-based intervention for improving hypertension control in black men. Archives of Internal Medicine 2011; 171(4):342-350.