Henry Ford Hospital Researcher Awarded $1.3 Million NIH Grant
Oscar A. Carretero, M.D., a hypertension researcher at Henry Ford Hospital, has been awarded a $1.3 million, four year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the mechanisms that control circulation in small blood vessels of the kidney. Improper regulation of these mechanisms causes salt retention. Just like excessive salt consumption in the diet, salt retention in the kidneys leads to hypertension.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is one of the nation's most common cardiovascular diseases. It affects approximately 50 million Americans and is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular disease and stroke are responsible for nearly 50 percent of the total mortality rate in the United States.
Dr. Carretero is division head of Hypertension and Vascular Research at Henry Ford Hospital. Additionally, in September of 2007, he was awarded a $12 million, five year grant from NIH to study the role of the kidney in blood pressure regulation, as well as how chronic high blood pressure damages the kidney, heart and vasculature.
He has published more than 300 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 35 book chapters. Dr. Carretero has received the Novartis Award for Hypertension Research from the Council for High Blood Pressure Research, the Lifetime Achievement Award in Hypertension Research from the Inter-American Society of Hypertension and the Distinguished Scientist Award by the Henry Ford Medical Group.
'Our goal is to unravel the mechanisms that lead to hypertension, to better understand it and ultimately, to improve its prevention and treatment,' Dr. Carretero says.
