Centers of Excellence Investigator Portal (password protected)

Argentina - Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS)

Map of South America with Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bariloche, Argentina; Marcos Paz, Argentina; Temuco, Chile and Canelones, Uruguay marked.

Center of Excellence

South American Center for Cardiovascular Health (SACECH). Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Principal Investigator: Adolfo Rubinstein, M.D., M.Sc., Ph.D.
Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy

Center of Excellence Activity Sites

Bariloche, Argentina
Marcos Paz, Argentina
Temuco, Chile
Pando, Uruguay

Developed Country Partner

Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (SPHTM), New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Principal Investigator: Jiang He, M.D., Ph.D.

Background

Mortality due to ischemic heart disease and stroke is estimated to increase by approximately 145 percent among men and women in Latin America from 1990 to 2020, as compared with a 28 percent increase for women and a 50 percent increase for men over the same period in developed countries. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) represents one-third of chronic disease deaths in the Southern Cone, a region composed of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. Despite the high burden of CVD, most health resources in these countries are dedicated to communicable diseases and maternal-child health conditions.

Objectives

Establish a Center of Excellence in cardiovascular health for the Southern Cone of Latin America focused on research, training, and health education for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in South America.

Conduct an epidemiological study to examine the prevalence, distribution, and secular trends of traditional and novel CVD risk factors as well as their relationship to clinical CVD and use of health services in four selected locations in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The study will provide evidence of CVD and its risk factor burden in South America, identify major CVD risk factors for future intervention studies, and create regional research infrastructure for prevention research and disease surveillance.
Provide research training in CVD epidemiology and prevention at the postgraduate and postdoctoral levels in order to build capacities and leadership of health professionals from Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.

Research Activities

Research will take place in four communities in the Southern Cone of Latin America: Bariloche and Marcos Paz, Argentina; Temuco, Chile; and Pando, Uruguay.

Objectives include:

Estimate the prevalence, distribution, and secular trends of CVD and risk factors in the Southern Cone of Latin America.
Examine the association between traditional and novel CVD risk factors and incidence of major CVD.
Evaluate the burdens of CVD in South America, including costs and health services utilization.
Build research infrastructure to conduct future intervention studies on cardiovascular health across the region.

Training

Promote research training in CVD epidemiology and prevention, focused on the learning of quantitative methods and skills in the design, conduct, and analysis of observational and interventional studies.

Graduate: Master’s degree program in Clinical Effectiveness at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires, organized by IECS and the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, for eight graduate health professionals. Candidates are selected from the IECS network of collaborating partners and communities.
Postdoctoral: Two-year mentored research training program (the first year at Tulane University and the second year at IECS) for two postdoctoral fellows. Selection will occur at IECS.
Professionals: On-site, one-week course in cardiovascular research methods at IECS for 40 health professionals. Participants are recruited from the network of collaborating partners and communities.