NIH-funded research R21 grant

Data-driven profiles of sleep apnea and heart health differences in a large patient group

Official title: Data-Driven Phenotyping of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Sex-Specific Cardiovascular Consequences in a Multi-Modal EHR Cohort

Funded at Brigham and Women's Hospital · NIH-11352888 · Data updated 2026-11-12

A study will analyze big health records and sleep data to find distinct sleep apnea types and how they relate to heart problems, especially in ways that could affect future care.

More Obstructive Sleep Apnea research and trials

Quick facts

Grant typeR21 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionBrigham and Women's Hospital
NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Boston, United States)
Project startJuly 15, 2026
Project endJune 30, 2028
Funding year2026
Award (this year)$492,250
NIH project number1R21HL186284-01
Project IDNIH-11352888 on NIH RePORTER

Who could benefit from this research

Could help

Adults with obstructive sleep apnea or suspected sleep-disordered breathing who have comprehensive EHR data and polysomnography metrics available.

Less likely to help

Individuals without sleep apnea or without available detailed sleep or cardiovascular data may not benefit from this research.

What this research studies

This project uses large electronic health record data from Brigham and Women’s Hospital to look beyond the standard apnea-hypopnea index. Researchers will apply unsupervised machine learning to uncover physiologic endotypes of obstructive sleep apnea, such as hypoxic burden and arousal patterns, and link them to cardiovascular outcomes over time. The goal is to improve risk stratification and identify subgroups that may benefit from targeted interventions. The study focuses on real patient data to generate clinically meaningful sleep-health insights that could guide future trials and care.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, findings could lead to more precise risk assessment and personalized treatment strategies for patients with sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease.

How similar studies have gone: Previous work supports that multi-dimensional sleep metrics relate to cardiovascular risk, but large-scale, longitudinal phenotype discovery remains limited and promising.

Where this research is happening

  • Brigham and Women's Hospital
    Boston, United States
    Active

Researchers

  • Principal investigator: Redline, Susan S. — Brigham and Women's Hospital
  • Study coordinator: Redline, Susan S.

Related research

Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.
Last reviewed 2026-11-14 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.