The National Heart

Heart

The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...

, Lung

Lung

The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...

, and Blood

Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....

 Institute (or NHLBI) is a division of the National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...

, located in Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...

. It is tasked with allocating about $2.7 billion in United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 tax

Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

 revenue per year (fiscal year 2004 estimate), to advancing the understanding of the following issues: development and progression of disease

Disease

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

, diagnosis

Medical diagnosis

Medical diagnosis refers both to the process of attempting to determine or identify a possible disease or disorder , and to the opinion reached by this process...

 of disease, treatment of disease, disease prevention, reduction of health care

Health care

Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...

 disparities within the American population, and advancing the effectiveness of the U.S. medical system. NHLBI's current Acting Director is Susan Shurin

Susan Shurin

Susan Shurin, M.D. is Acting Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health .- Career :...

, M.D..

Mission statement

NHLBI is best described by its mission statement, which reads as follows:

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) provides leadership for a national program in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood; blood resources; and sleep disorders. Since October 1997, the NHLBI has also had administrative responsibility for the NIH Woman's Health Initiative.

Operation

The Institute plans, conducts, fosters, and supports an integrated and coordinated program of basic research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

, clinical investigations and trials

Clinical trial

Clinical trials are a set of procedures in medical research and drug development that are conducted to allow safety and efficacy data to be collected for health interventions...

, observational studies

Observational study

In epidemiology and statistics, an observational study draws inferences about the possible effect of a treatment on subjects, where the assignment of subjects into a treated group versus a control group is outside the control of the investigator...

, and demonstration and education projects. Research is related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases, and sleep disorders. The NHLBI plans and directs research in development and evaluation of interventions and devices related to prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation

Physical therapy

Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...

 of patients suffering from such diseases and disorders. It also supports research on clinical use of blood and all aspects of the management of blood resources. Research by scientific institutions and individuals is supported by research grants and contractss through the NHLBI Extramural Program, while the NHLBI Division of Intramural Research conducts state-of-the-art research on the NIH Besthesda campus in its own laboratories.

For health professionals and the public, the NHLBI conducts educational activities, including development and dissemination of materials in the above areas, with an emphasis on prevention.

The NHLBI supports research training and career development of new and established researchers in fundamental sciences and clinical disciplines to enable them to conduct basic and clinical research related to heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases, sleep disorder

Sleep disorder

A sleep disorder, or somnipathy, is a medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person or animal. Some sleep disorders are serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental and emotional functioning...

s, and blood resources through individual and institutional research training awards and career development awards.

The NHLBI coordinates relevant activities in the above areas, including the related causes of stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

, with other research institutes and federal health programs. Relationships are maintained with institutions and professional associations, and with international, national, state, and local officials as well as voluntary agencies and organizations working in the above areas.

The NHLBI Division of Intramural Research (DIR) in Bethesda conducts research and training in a wide variety of areas broadly related to the mission of the Institute, both clinical research and basic science research. There are 60 investigators, each of whom runs their own research program. They are supported by a group of core services that implement state-of-the-art techniques available to all NHLBI investigators. The NHLBI is home to Marshall Nirenberg, Nobel Laureate for his discovery of the genetic code. The DIR also has a large training component, with opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and medical students as well as Postdoctoral training for Ph.D. and M.D. graduates.

The NHLBI sponsors National Wear Red Day and the Heart Truth campaign, a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease.

External links

• NHLBI Homepage
• NHLBI Mission Statement
• John T. Watson Papers (1964-2003) - National Library of Medicine finding aid for a former administrator of the NHLBI's artificial heart program