AHA data challenge explores links between inflammation and heart disease
The American Heart Association (AHA) has launched a nationwide data-driven research competition to learn more about how inflammation contributes to cardiovascular risk and how it is currently addressed in clinical practice. The initiative, called the Systemic Inflammation Data Challenge, invites data scientists, clinicians and researchers to leverage advanced analytics and electronic medical record (EMR) data to better understand the impact of systemic inflammation on atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
"Systemic inflammation plays a critical role in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which includes heart attacks, strokes, peripheral arterial disease. We have a plethora of EHR data available and the AHA wanted to put out a challenge where we could crowdsource interesting methodology, including machine learning, and invite data scientists and other investigators across the country to be a part of this challenge," AHA volunteer Anum Saeed, MD, cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine with the University of Pittsburgh and co-leader of the American College of Cardiology Dyslipidemia Working Group, explained in an interview with Cardiovascular Business.
The research initiative is hosted on the AHA’s Precision Medicine Platform and is funded in part by Novo Nordisk. Rather than traditional research grants, AHA will award $75,000 in prize funding to the top three teams: $40,000 for first place, $25,000 for second and $10,000 for third. Finalists will present their findings at the AHA’s Scientific Sessions, and winning entries will be published in peer-reviewed journals.
The challenge aims to investigate how elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), a biomarker of inflammation, contributes to cardiovascular events. Investigators also will examine the prevalence of hsCRP testing and how results influence medical decisions. Another goal is to evaluate potential disparities in inflammation-driven cardiovascular risk due to social determinants of health.
Clinicians have several anti-inflammatory strategies available, including statins, colchicine and exercise that can be added to prevention and treatment plans.
The data sets available from AHA include National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and NashBio, a source of de-identified electronic health record data. Saeed said these provide longitudinal data. Researchers also also able to bring their own data, which can help broaden the scope and diversity of insights that may be generated, she said.
"One of the goals is to find out how much action are we really taking, and we think it may be underutilized. There is more data coming out with the COLCOT trial about directly using some medications to decrease residual inflammatory burden. And it's been helpful for us to understand that indeed targeting residual inflammation does decrease future risk of cardiovascular events. It's not only the medications that are relatively newer or the ones that are coming up hopefully in the pipeline, but also things like statin to reduce your inflammatory burden," Saeed explained.
Recent advances, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of colchicine and promising late-stage clinical trials of novel anti-inflammatory therapies, have renewed interest in targeting inflammation as a modifiable cardiovascular risk factor. Saeed noted that statins, commonly prescribed for cholesterol reduction, also reduce systemic inflammation and hsCRP levels, which may explain part of their benefit in preventing heart disease.
Saeed said there is growing recognition that patients on optimal medical therapy can still carry residual risk for cardiac events, and inflammation is often the missing piece. She said this challenge could help define how we better identify and treat that risk in the future.
The AHA encourages a wide range of applicants, including teams from academic institutions, data science groups and healthcare systems. The challenge also aims to promote diversity in participation and thought, which Saeed emphasized is vital for generating novel and meaningful insights.
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: [email protected]