Jackson Heart Study marks 25 years, looks to new tech for next phase

Jackson Heart Study marks 25 years, looks to new tech for next phase

Vicki Govan's spent decades teaching school in Jackson, but the best health-related education she ever had probably came from her parents.

"Both of my parents were in the ARIC study," Govan said, referring to the landmark Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study at UMMC and other sites that looked at changes in vascular health over time.

"They told me I might want to get in this study they were starting," she said, adding her father later died of cardiac disease, same as her maternal grandfather.

Little did the veteran educator realize at the time she joined the Jackson Heart Study in the early 2000s that she would be part of another landmark study that was in the making - not just for her own benefit, but for generations of Mississippians who'd benefit from its findings.

The study marked 25 years of impact on research, training and community engagement with a ceremony Sept. 20 at the Jackson Convention Complex. The ceremony highlighted key scientific findings and recognized the more than 5,300 study participants who volunteered to be a part of the study to improve cardiovascular health. Govan developed better health habits as a result of being part of it.

"It was during the study I learned I had heart issues and high blood pressure," she said. "So, for the first time, I learned preventive practices to maintain good heart health, such as checking my blood pressure regularly, seeing a doctor and cardiologist regularly, adjusting my diet to eat more fruit and vegetables and less processed food and to watch my salt intake."

The research program is a longstanding collaboration among UMMC, Jackson State University and Tougaloo College and is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, as well as the agency's National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The program was renewed this month with $58 million in funding over the next 10 years to continue its work to understand and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Joining the program as new collaborators are the University of Southern Mississippi, Wake Forest University and G.A. Carmichael Family Health Center, which operates six locations in Canton, Belzoni, Yazoo City, Carthage and Greenwood.

"Renewing this program for another 10 years speaks to the value of the study and what it's contributed to clinical medicine, to science, to training, and its importance to Mississippi," said Dr. April Carson, director of the Jackson Heart Study since 2021 and professor of medicine. "Many people do not realize the far-reaching impact of the Jackson Heart Study - with our research data being used to inform clinical practice nationwide, our scholars who are now leaders in research and health care fields, and our engagement and outreach activities that have been adopted by other communities across the country."

Two study participants started out as either coordinators in the effort or had worked closely with project directors - Dr. Warren Jones, professor emeritus of medicine and immediate past president board chair for the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, and Dr. Sonja Fuqua, who was manager of recruitment and retention for the study and is now chief clinical services officer for the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi.

"I lost a daughter to heart disease," Jones said. "As a result, I decided to put my participation where my thoughts were and make possible a chance to help people live a healthier life."

Fuqua reflected on the study's impact on the community from the outset, especially the task of convincing African Americans to participate in medical research, given the history of the U.S. Public Health Service Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee. That study ultimately led to establishing principles and regulations for conducting research in the 1970s.

"It [the Jackson Heart Study] really did use the model of community-based participatory research," she said. "We talked to people in the community and asked them what would it take for them to participate in such a study. We still feel the sting of what happened at Tuskegee, and so we gathered people together as though they were family.

"We met with people at health fairs and other public places and also established a council of elders who had participated in the ARIC study. They were asked what worked in the research, and we got a feel for what we'd experience. I want to see it continue to be a beacon of hope in the African American community in Mississippi."

Study participants have been examined regularly for medical conditions, have had blood and urine samples analyzed, and have been surveyed for health care access, diet, and physical activity. Each participant is contacted annually to collect information about hospitalizations, medical events and health symptoms. The oldest of the study's pool of participants is now over 100 years of age, Carson said.

The next phase of study will provide a look at how "personalized medicine" will play a role in clinical settings going forward, Carson said. An example is gauging study participants' risk for health conditions for which people of African descent are at higher risk, such as transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, or ATTR.

"We're now doing genetics-related work on ATTR," she said. "For participants found to have the genetic change that increases the risk for ATTR, we are providing genetic counseling and sharing those results with them so they can discuss with their doctors what the best clinical course of action is."

Also, new technology will be introduced during the next study phase in an effort to make participation feel even more seamless using devices that measure participants' daily activities at home.

"In the next exam, we will do echo imaging of the heart using AI-guided algorithms to see if more information can be learned using this approach than what is typically done," she said. "The research that is being done by the Jackson Heart Study is critically important - and we look forward to continuing to lead the way to improve cardiovascular health in Mississippi."