Blood-test guided heart protection after non-cardiac surgery
Official title: Post-Operative Biomarker-Guided Precision Medicine for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction
Funded at New York University School of Medicine · NIH-11323508 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project compares blood test–guided long-term low-dose anticoagulant plus high-intensity statin therapy to usual care for people who have heart injury after non-cardiac surgery.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | New York University School of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | April 21, 2025 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $386,335 |
| NIH project number | 5R34HL173301-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11323508 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People who develop elevated post-operative troponin (myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery) and who can safely take anticoagulant and statin medications are the intended candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without postoperative troponin elevation, those who had cardiac surgery, or those who cannot take anticoagulants or high-intensity statins are unlikely to benefit from this intervention.
What this research studies
If you have non-cardiac surgery, doctors will check your blood for troponin to see if you had a heart injury (MINS). If troponin is elevated, this pilot will randomly assign eligible patients to a plan that adds a low-dose direct oral anticoagulant and a high-strength statin for the long term or to usual care. The team will test whether this biomarker-guided approach is practical at busy surgical hospitals, refine who should join and exactly how treatments are given, and measure how well patients stick with the plan. Results will be used to plan a larger international trial if the pilot shows the approach is feasible.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could lower future heart attacks and deaths after surgery by targeting preventive medicines to people with post-operative heart injury.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research shows MINS is linked to worse outcomes, but using postoperative troponin to guide long-term anticoagulant plus high-intensity statin therapy is a novel approach that has not yet been proven in large trials.
Where this research is happening
-
New York University School of Medicine
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Smilowitz, Nathaniel Rosso — New York University School of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Smilowitz, Nathaniel Rosso
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.