Cardiologists, researchers oppose President Trump’s proposed 20% NIH budget cut
Cardiologists and researchers fear that President Donald Trump’s 20 percent cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget could limit the number of trials and life-saving medications, Reuters reports.
Trump has proposed a $5.8 billion cut to the NIH budget, which could lead to fewer NIH-sponsored trials and a disproportionate number of studies funded by drug companies.
Steven Nissen, MD, chief of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, cited the work of researchers that led to the development of statins, which have helped prevent MIs and saved millions of lives and dollars.
American College of Cardiology President Mary Norine Walsh, MD, told Reuters that physicians and healthcare professionals should oppose the proposed NIH cuts.
“All of medicine and all of investigation need to make our voices heard,” Walsh told Reuters. “This could become a unifying theme. Science matters!”