The House and Senate have passed the fiscal year 2001 appropriations bills that include funding for the NHLBI. The Senate gave the NIH a 15 percent increase over fiscal year 2000, with slightly more than $2.3 billion allotted to the NHLBI. The House currently has allocated only enough funds to give the NIH a 5.6 percent increase, the same as President Clinton’s request. At the 5.6 percent level, the House would give the NHLBI about $2.1 billion. However, the House remains committed to a 15 percent increase for the NIH and is trying to find sufficient funding to provide it. If successful, the House, too, would provide somewhat more than $2.3 billion to the NHLBI. Members of the House and Senate have negotiated a compromise bill that will be voted on by the full House and Senate after their August recess. If approved, the bill will then be sent to the President for signature. You can check the status of these bills online.

The House and Senate Appropriations Reports urged the NHLBI to give top priority to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to expand CVD research in women. They expressed interest in asthma, the NHLBI Thalassemia Clinical Research Network, hemophilia gene therapy, and development of a workshop on hypertension and kidney disease. The reports also encouraged studies of weight loss maintenance and examination of behaviors that influence obesity and weight loss; basic research, gene therapy, and clinical trials of promising drugs for the treatment of primary pulmonary hypertension; and research on innovative theories about behavioral, cultural, social, psychological, and environmental methods to increase adherence to lifestyle and medical regimens.

Recent Advances from the NHLBI

Advisory for Treating Hypertension in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Could Affect Millions of Americans

In May, the Journal of Clinical Hypertension published a clinical advisory from the NHLBI National High Blood Pressure Education Program recommending that physicians be more aggressive in lowering the blood pressure of patients who have both hypertension and diabetes. Both conditions are independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease and coexist in over 5 million Americans.

Patients with both hypertension and diabetes should work with their physicians to lower their blood pressures to 135/80 mm Hg. The goal blood pressure for a patient with hypertension but without diabetes should be 140/90 mm Hg.

Researchers Discover Gene for Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

Two groups of scientists funded by the NHLBI have identified a genetic mutation associated with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), a rare but devastating lung disease. The discoveries, published in Nature Genetics and the American Journal of Human Genetics, provide new insights regarding the molecular basis of PPH and open new avenues for studying both familial and sporadic PPH.

Said NHLBI Director Dr. Claude Lenfant, “This research is the culmination of nearly 20 years of work to identify possible immunologic and genetic factors in the cause and progression of PPH. Now that we have pinpointed a gene, we can focus on learning how it works. That information should enable us to devise better treatments and perhaps eventually a preventive therapy or cure.”

Presidential Action Promotes Clinical Trials

On June 7, President Clinton issued an Executive Memorandum directing the Medicare program to (1) reimburse providers for the cost of routine patient care associated with participation in clinical trials and (2) to promote participation of Medicare beneficiaries in clinical trials for all diseases. The full press release can be accessed online.