Circulation. 2003;108:e9072-e9076
doi: 10.1161/01.CIR.0000110481.96097.90
(Circulation. 2003;108:e9072.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.
Cardiovascular News
Ruth SoRelle, MPH
Circulation Newswriter
This Week in Circulation
Another Way Men and Women Differ
The association between the albumin-creatinine level and all-cause mortality is stronger in hypertensive men than in women with the same health problem, said Norwegian researchers in a report in this week’s issue of the journal Circulation (
Circulation. 2003;108:2783–2789[CrossRef][Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]).
Solfrid Romundstat, MD, of the HUNT Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Verdal, and his colleagues monitored 2307 men and 3062 men for 4.3 years. The main outcome was the relative risk of all-cause mortality according to increasing albuminuria defined by different levels of the ratio of albumin to creatinine.
"We found a positive association between mortality and increasing number of urine samples with ACR [albumin-creatinine ratio] above different cutoff levels, especially in men," they wrote. "The sex differences persisted after exclusion of those who died during the first year of follow-up, those with hypertension not treated optimally, and those with known cardiovascular disease."
The finding has significant clinical implications, they wrote. Because the association was stronger in men than women, the results "indicate that hypertensive women tolerate MA [microalbuminuria] better than men and that MA in women should be interpreted differently than in men," they noted.
Award Winners at the 2003 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association
Chairman’s Award
Rao Musunuru, MD, Director of Cardiology at the Heart Institute of the Regional Medical Center at Bayonet Point, Fla, received the Chairman’s Award at opening ceremonies of the 2003 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association (AHA) in Orlando, Fla. He was honored for exceptional volunteer efforts in a nonscientific field. Dr Musunuru is active in the activities of his local AHA chapter and worked hard to pass the Florida law that bans smoking in the workplace, as well as expanding the training of dispatchers handling 9-1-1 calls.
He also coordinated the largest cardiopulmonary training event ever in his home county and a campaign to put automated external defibrillators in every community that is part of the regional AHA chapter.
Longest-Serving Circulation Editor
James T. Willerson, MD, was honored for his long tenure as editor of Circulation, a journal of the AHA. Since he assumed that post in 1993, he has revolutionized the operations of the publication, taking it from a monthly to a biweekly and, finally, a weekly. He instituted rapid access publication to give readers vital research in a timely manner.
Under his leadership, the journal has become the leader in cardiac medicine. It has the highest impact factor of any cardiovascular journal in the world.
Distinguished Scientist
The AHA named 15 research pioneers as Distinguished Scientists during the Scientific Sessions in Orlando.
They include:
- Piero Anversa, MD, Professor of Medicine at the Cardiovascular Research Institute of New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY.
- Elizabeth Barrett Conner, MD, Chief of the Division of Epidemiology at the University of California, San Diego.
- Eugene Braunwald, MD, Vice President for Academic Programs at Partners HealthCare System, the parent corporation of the Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospitals affiliation; Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Faculty Dean for Academic Programs at the Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospitals.
- Michael S. Brown, MD, Professor of Medical Genetics and Internal Medicine and Director of UT Southwestern’s Erik Jonsson Center for Research in Molecular Genetics and Human Disease at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.
- Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.
- Jacques Genest, MD, Professor of Medicine at McGill University; Director of the Division of Cardiology at McGill University Health Centre; and Director of the Cardiovascular Genetics Laboratory at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal.
- Myron D. Ginsberg, MD, Professor of Neurology; Director of the Cerebral Vascular Disease Research Center; Co-Director of the Neurotrauma Research Center; and Professor of Psychology at the University of Miami School of Medicine.
- Joseph Goldstein, MD, Chair of Molecular Genetics and Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.
- Robert J. Lefkovwitz, MD, Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Duke University Medical Center at Durham, NC.
- D. Craig Miller, MD, Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California.
- Jay P. Mohr, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York.
- Eric N. Olson, PhD, Chairman of Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.
- Abraham M. Rudolph, MD, Emeritus Chairman of Pediatrics at the University of California San Francisco and senior staff member of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at UCSF.
- Christine E. Seidman, MD, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
- James T. Willerson, MD, President of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Medical Director of the Texas Heart Institute, Chief of Cardiology at St Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, and Editor-in-Chief of Circulation.
Basic Research Award
Shaun R. Coughlin MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco, and David Ginsburg, MD, Professor of Internal Medicine and Human Genetics at the University of Michigan School of Medicine at Ann Arbor received the AHA Basic Research Prize. Dr Coughlin was honored for discovering blood cells’ signaling system that regulates clotting. Dr Ginsburg was honored for discovering the molecular genetic defects causing major bleeding disorders.
Braunwald Award
Kathleen A. Dracup, RN, FNP, DNSc, Professor and Dean of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing received the Eugene Braunwald Academic Mentorship Award during Sunday’s Opening Session for her "enthusiastic and enlightened mentoring of cardiovascular nursing students during their critical formative years." The Braunwald Award is presented annually to honor an individual whose academic career includes a long-term record of successful mentoring of promising young academicians.
Research Achievement Award
Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, Professor and Chief of the Division of Epidemiology at the University of California, San Diego, received the Research Achievement Award for her discoveries identifying critical indicators of cardiovascular disease risk and for clinical research having a direct impact on preventive care. Dr Barrett-Connor is founder and director of the Rancho Bernardo Heart and Chronic Disease Study, now in its 30th year, which has produced data defining causal factors for diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis, as well as cardiovascular disease.
