Heart Health Research Center takes aim at cardiovascular disease in China

The George Institute for Global Health has partnered with Cardio Union, a leading private Chinese healthcare organization focused on the prevention and treatment of cardiology conditions, to create the Heart Health Research Center (HHRC) to help address the growing burden of cardiovascular disease in China and around the world. This new business entity will provide research services to deliver efficient, high quality and high impact research for customers focused on clinical, population and healthcare services for people at high risk of cardiovascular disease in China.

The Center’s key priorities are to:

• provide high quality research services in the field of cardiovascular disease of the heart, brain and kidney - major causes of premature death, disability and suffering; 
• assist doctors, researchers and industry to obtain grants, design protocols, undertake the best research, and publish results in the world’s top journals; 
• propel high-level research at clinical, population, and healthcare cardiovascular services;
• promote better prevention and management of cardiovascular disease in China through the conduct of multi-center randomised controlled trials, disease registries, and community surveillance studies; and
• provide training and capacity building activities in research methods, analysis and technical report writing.

The new partnership integrates advantages from two renowned parties.  As a leading global medical research institute, unique in having a Beijing-based center, The George Institute has high-quality research programs in the field of cardiovascular disease, stroke, nephropathy, diabetes, trauma and critical illness. The research programs have focused developing effective new strategies for the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases that have made a profound influence on clinical practice guidance and health policy.  Executive Director of The George Institute China, Professor Craig Anderson, and many other talented research people working there have published widely in major journals, such as New England Medical Journal and Lancet.  Likewise, Cardio Union will take full advantage of its cardiovascular resources and networks. With a special focus on heart disease and stroke, conditions that affect an increasing number of Chinese people, this academic collaborative venture aims to rapidly translate reliable research outcomes into clinical practice, to improve the performance of health care systems, and help address these and related health issues in China.

“Cardiovascular disease poses a huge threat to the health of the people of China - it affects more than 200 million people and costs the country several hundred billion RMB each year,” said Dr Stephen MacMahon, Principal Director of The George Institute for Global Health and Honorary Professor at the Peking University Health Science Center. “This new partnership has the goal of finding new ways to prevent and treat the cardiovascular diseases responsible for most premature deaths and healthcare costs in China, including heart attacks, heart beat irregularities, heart failure and strokes.  Our partnership is built on the greatest expertise in China and the world on the management of cardiovascular diseases and the conduct of the high quality medical research.  These strengths will help us generate the best possible evidence about innovative disease management strategies designed specifically for the needs of China”

“There are enormous opportunities to expand clinical research to improve public policy and health care delivery in China” said Changsheng Ma, Director of Cardiology at Beijing Anzhen Hospital, “The Heart Health Research Center will spearhead high quality clinical cardiovascular research providing effective solutions to the burden of cardiovascular disease.”

Professor Craig Anderson from The George Institute, China, who has a high reputation in the field of stroke and clinical neurology worldwide, and Professor Xin Du from Beijing Anzhen hospital, a leading cardiovascular disease researcher and cardiologist, will be co-directors of this new entity. 

About Cardio Union

Cardio Union was co-founded by multiple Chinese well-known cardiologists in June 2015. It has developed into an all-round emerging healthcare industry including tele-medicine, entity medicine, teaching and research, diseases management and academic communication. And become a leading healthcare organization which focuses on the prevention and treatment of cardiology diseases. With the rapid development of Cardio Union, its expert team is also expanding. At present, 388 national cardiovascular disease experts have officially signed up as core experts of Cardio Union, 316 of them are chief physicians and professors; 72 of them are deputy chief physicians and associate professors. The network covers 30 provinces and 68 major cities, and engaged in 28 medical centers.

We hope that, based on our expert resources and the complete line of Internet products, through Cardio Union and its subsidiaries, provide a high level of medical care, teaching and research, academic and technology support to hospitals, doctors, patients, Medical & Device manufacturers and strategic partners, Cardio Union will become a large-scale, influential and branded cardiovascular specialist medical service institution.