Cardiovascular diseases, including congestive heart failure, hypertension, atherosclerosis, stroke, vascular auto-immune disease, and heart failure, account for 40% of all annual deaths in the United States each year (1 death every 36 seconds). This year, these largely preventable diseases are projected to cost the nation over $430 billion in health care expenses and lost productivity from death and disability.
With a history of achievement that includes developing and placing the first cardiac pacemaker, performing the first serial electrophysiologic-pharmacologic testing for arrhythmia control, and implementing the first use of overdrive pacing for arrhythmia termination, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center have long led the nation in advancing state-of-the-art clinical care through groundbreaking scientific research into the mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and related metabolic disorders.
The Einstein-Montefiore Cardiovascular Research Center was established to fulfill the following mission:
- expand basic and clinical research into heart and vascular diseases that can be translated into therapies and improve patient care
- impact healthcare by reducing morbidity and promoting cardiovascular health
- facilitate research by providing expertise, resources and training to cardiovascular scientists and clinical investigators
- recruit, train, and mentor the next generation of leaders in cardiovascular science and medicine, including pre- and postgraduate students, residents and fellows
- disseminate knowledge through lectures, seminars and other educational opportunities
Einstein-Montefiore’s commitment to scientific research in cardiovascular medicine has expanded understanding of cardiovascular development, anatomy, pharmacology and control, and led to discoveries and developments that include the roles of myosin and specific gene mutations in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the pathology of myocardial infarction and diabetic cardiomyopathy, novel mediators of angiogenesis, the role of cellular channels in sudden cardiac death, and novel methods of transferring genes to the heart. This knowledge has rendered it possible to establish new approaches to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease.
Today, the Einstein-Montefiore Cardiovascular Research Center is home to [insert # of] scientists continuing this work through the study of humans and model organisms, along with cutting-edge genetics, genotyping, and unique patient subsets.