Framingham Heart Study is an ongoing medical research project that has yielded important information about heart disease. The study began in 1948, and it has since become the longest-running medical study of its kind in history. Findings from the study have changed the way doctors treat heart disease and have suggested ways to prevent it. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) funds and directs the project.
In 1948, physicians recruited 5,209 adult residents of Framingham, Massachusetts, to participate in the study. Physicians examined the volunteers every two to four years and interviewed them about their diet and lifestyles. They hoped that data gathered over many years would help them learn why certain individuals developed heart disease, while others did not. In 1971, physicians added 5,124 children of the original participants and their spouses to the study.
Researchers analyzing data from the study discovered several _risk factors—_that is, behaviors or conditions that increased a person’s chance of developing heart disease. High blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, cigarette smoking, diabetes, obesity, and lack of physical activity have all been identified as risk factors for heart disease through the Framingham Heart Study.
Framingham was the first major heart study to include women as subjects. Earlier studies focused only on men, who seemed more likely to get heart disease. The original volunteers for the study were primarily white, so researchers could not automatically apply their findings to other ethnic groups. In 1995, they began the OMNI Study, made up of volunteers from Framingham’s nonwhite population. Researchers use data from the OMNI study to help determine if risk factors for heart disease differ between ethnic groups.
In 1998, physicians involved in the Framingham study identified a gene associated with high blood pressure in men. The finding established a link between heart disease and the genetic makeup of an individual. Researchers hope that further analysis of data from the study will reveal how genes contribute to the development of certain illnesses. Scientists have also used data from the study to investigate such diseases as Alzheimer’s, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
