How head injury affects the heart and blood vessels
Official title: Traumatic Brain Injury and Vascular Disease
Funded at Veterans Health Administration · NIH-11520843 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to find out whether traumatic brain injuries make people more likely to develop hardened arteries and heart problems, especially among veterans.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Veterans Health Administration NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2021 |
| Project end | September 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01BX004836-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11520843 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults, particularly veterans, with a history of moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury who can attend VA or affiliated clinic visits.
✕Less likely to help
People without a history of head injury or those unable to travel to VA-affiliated sites likely would not be eligible or receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If you have had a head injury, researchers will look for lasting changes in your blood vessels and heart that might follow brain trauma. The team will combine clinical data and imaging from veterans with laboratory experiments to explore biological causes such as stress-hormone surges, inflammation, and oxidative damage. They plan to measure coronary calcification, heart function, and molecular markers, and to test potential interventions in experimental models that mirror what is seen in patients. The goal is to link patient findings to underlying mechanisms that could point to ways to prevent or treat vascular disease after TBI.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new ways to screen, prevent, or treat heart and blood-vessel disease in people who have had traumatic brain injuries.
How similar studies have gone: Prior clinical studies have linked TBI to greater coronary calcification and higher cardiovascular mortality, but the direct mechanisms and effective treatments remain largely unproven.
Where this research is happening
-
Veterans Health Administration
Ann Arbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Eitzman, Daniel T — Veterans Health Administration
- Study coordinator: Eitzman, Daniel T
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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.