FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
CONTACT: Kelsey Klopfenstein, University Communications
(850) 644-1066; kklopfenstein@fsu.edu
 
February 2020
 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. About 3,200 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each day, and about 92.1 million American adults are living with some form of cardiovascular disease or the after-effects of a stroke, according to the American Heart Association’s 2018 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update. 
 
The American Heart Association sponsors “American Heart Month” every February as a strategy for increasing heart disease awareness and promoting prevention at home and in the community. In conjunction with Heart Month, National Heart Failure Awareness Week takes place Feb. 9 – 15.
 
Florida State University experts are available to comment on a variety of topics related to heart disease awareness and self-care after heart failure. 
 
Laurie Abbott, assistant professor, College of Nursing
(850) 644-6008; labbott@fsu.edu
 
Abbott’s research involves reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among rural populations and exploring factors related to rural health disparities. She has conducted two cluster randomized trials that tested evidence-based cardiovascular health promotion interventions in rural community settings. She also has measured factors that affect health outcomes including acute and chronic stress, resilience and social support. This research is intended to advance rural health equity by increasing CVD awareness and promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors that enhance wellness and reduce modifiable disease risk factors, disease exacerbation and preventable hospitalizations. 
 
“CVD prevalence and mortality are high among people living in the United States, especially among those living in rural areas of the Southeast. Risk factors related to CVD have also been associated with increased risk for the future development of cancer, another major cause of death. This highlights the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices that reduce modifiable disease risk such as increasing produce servings, limiting dietary fat and sugar intake, exercising regularly, avoiding nicotine-delivery products, reducing stress and effectively managing diabetes and hypertension. My research in rural community settings indicates that helping people understand the causal links between disease risk factors and progression, as well as enhancing their health literacy, knowledge and self-care skills, are important steps toward promoting heart health. Prevention is key to living a healthy life.”
 
Lucinda J. Graven, assistant professor, College of Nursing
(850) 644-5601; lgraven@fsu.edu
 
Graven’s research focuses on improving outcomes for heart failure patients through the development and testing of cognitive-behavioral interventions at the individual and family level. Her intervention, the Coping in Heart Failure Partnership, holds promise for improving heart failure self-care in community dwelling adults with heart failure. Recognizing the importance of family caregivers in helping heart failure patients maintain optimal self-care, Graven is currently adapting her intervention to include family caregivers. Graven’s community-based research also focuses on improving heart failure self-care in rural patients who are more susceptible to poor health outcomes. Graven was recognized as a Fellow of the American Heart Association in 2019.
 
“February 9 - 15 has been designated National Heart Failure Awareness Week by the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) to create national awareness of the severity of this disease in the United States. While overall mortality and hospitalization rates for heart failure are high nationwide, individuals with heart failure living in rural areas are at greater risk for poor outcomes versus their urban counterparts. Rural residents have higher risk-adjusted rates for mortality, as well as higher rates of heart failure-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits than urban residents, illustrating the importance of improving disease management in this population. Interventions that improve disease management at the family-level are necessary to prevent poor outcomes in heart failure patients, as research shows that self-care interventions involving a family caregiver result in better patient outcomes and longer sustainability. My research is aimed at improving family processes to facilitate coping and disease management in hopes of improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare utilization among rural-residing residents with heart failure.” 
 
Jose Pinto, associate professor, College of Medicine
(850) 645-0016; jose.pinto@med.fsu.edu
 
Pinto’s research focuses on cardiac and skeletal muscle regulation and genetic diseases. His most recent study focuses on a devastating case of pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy, a rare heart condition that affects infants and children where the heart doesn’t function correctly. Through DNA sequencing, Pinto and other researchers from Yale School of Medicine and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center were able to determine that three children with cardiomyopathy had variants (mutations) in the same gene for a heart protein named troponin C. Through biophysical, biochemical and structural biology experiments, researchers gained insights into cardiac disease and the function of the affected molecule (troponin). 
 
Pinto has been volunteering with the American Heart Association for almost a decade reviewing research projects and advising the Association on which projects should be prioritized for funding. Pinto and colleagues have continuously studied the function of troponin C in the heart with the hope to develop tailored therapies to combat heart disease.
 
P. Bryant Chase, professor, College of Arts & Sciences
(850) 644-0392; chase@bio.fsu.edu
 
Chase’s research focuses on cellular and molecular biomechanics and structure of striated cardiac and skeletal muscles. In collaboration with Pinto, he is currently studying genetic variants in cardiac troponin that cause hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathies. Troponin is the calcium ion sensor that regulates contraction of the heart and pumping of blood. It is central to the heart’s function, and small changes in the troponin gene’s DNA sequence may result in major, detrimental changes in the heart’s ability to pump blood. This research focus derives in part from concern that cardiovascular diseases remain the major reason for death and hospitalization in the developed world. Chase was recognized as a Fellow of the American Heart Association in 2002.
 
“The central theme of my research program is to understand the biophysical basis of biological motility, its regulation and modulation by cellular metabolism. Much remains to be learned about actomyosin interactions and their regulation, especially in cardiovascular function and diseases, cancer (metastasis), human performance and bionanotechnology (biological nanomotors and protein mechanics). My experimental work has most often been directed toward answering molecular and cellular questions related to these topics.”
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
CONTACT: Bill Wellock, University Communications
(850) 645-1504; wwellock@fsu.edu
 
@FSUResearch
 
February 2020
 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As an outbreak of a new coronavirus makes headlines across the world, another more common infectious disease is spreading across the United States and beyond — the flu.
 
About 8 percent of the U.S. population gets sick from the flu each season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although anyone can get sick, people 65 years and older, children younger than 5, pregnant women and people with medical conditions are at greater risk of serious complications.
 
Dr. Christie Alexander, an associate professor at the Florida State University College of Medicine and president of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians, is available to explain how scientists develop each year’s flu vaccine, why its effectiveness varies and whether it’s still worth getting a flu shot in February.
 
How does the development process for each year’s flu vaccine work?
Development starts right around the end of the previous year’s flu season, and it’s based on that year’s flu season. Scientists try to develop the vaccine based on that season, looking back to see what the rates of the various flu strains were and then developing the flu vaccine according to that, trying to anticipate what the next flu season will look like.
 
Can you talk about the different strains?
There’s influenza A and influenza B. The flu shot is trying to prevent against two strains of A and two strains of B. Those strains mutate every year, so scientists try to target the mutations as best they can and create the vaccine based on what those strains looked like that year.
 
Why is the vaccine sometimes more or less effective?
This is because the strains mutate so quickly and so readily. Even after scientists develop the shot and we start to administer it, those strains can change again. Once the flu shot is developed, you can’t recreate it, so the hope is that scientists are able to correctly predict any possible mutations for the next year in order to gain the most protection from the shot.
 
Some experts have said there may be a “mismatch” between the vaccine and the strains this year. What does that mean?
That gets back to mutation. We have the two strains of influenza A and the two strains of influenza B, and if one of those four strains starts to mutate, then the shot will no longer match the strains. So it might hit three of the four really well, but if the fourth starts to mutate, you’ll see a resurgence from that strain. That’s what the term “mismatch” means. It doesn’t happen every year. In fact, over time, the shot has been 40 to 60 percent effective, which translates into the prevention of literally millions of illnesses and flu-related doctor’s visits each year. For example, based on information from the CDC, during the 2017-2018 flu season, the vaccination prevented an estimated 6.2 million influenza illnesses, 3.2 million influenza-associated medical visits, 91,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations and 5,700 influenza-associated deaths.
 
How effective is this year’s vaccine?
We can’t know final numbers until flu season is over because the numbers include how many people got the shot, how many cases of the flu we saw, which strains of the flu they were, how many people were hospitalized — those types of things. Right now, it looks like it is on track with previous years, but it’s hard to say. The most recent data from the CDC shows most cases are influenza B this year, but this alone does not predict how effective the shot has been.
 
Right now, it’s February. Should you still get a flu shot if you haven’t gotten one?
Absolutely. The flu season usually goes from October all the way through April, sometimes even May. We see a bimodal uptick with a rise in cases in December and a rise in cases in February. Therefore, we recommend continuing to get the flu shot to not only avoid getting the flu, but to avoid complications from the flu, such as hospitalizations, influenza-associated illnesses like pneumonia or even death. So the short answer is, “Yes! Get your flu shot!”
 

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