Predicting heart changes to improve care for women with severe aortic stenosis
Official title: Leveraging Sexual Dimorphism to Predict Cardiac Remodeling and Enhance Treatment in Women with Severe Aortic Stenosis
Funded at Brigham and Women's Hospital · NIH-11175320 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses advanced medical imaging and computer models to better predict how women's hearts remodel from severe aortic stenosis so care can be more personalized.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $268,500 |
| NIH project number | 5R21HL173731-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11175320 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are women with clinically diagnosed severe aortic stenosis who have accessible cardiac imaging (such as echocardiography or CT) and clinical follow-up data.
✕Less likely to help
People without aortic stenosis, men (if sex-specific models are not applied to them), or patients without suitable cardiac imaging are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
From my perspective as a patient, the team will analyze heart images and use artificial intelligence and shape-analysis tools to map how the left ventricle changes in women with severe aortic stenosis. They will combine convolutional neural networks with mathematical models like inverse finite element analysis to create personalized models of heart structure and function. The focus is on sex-specific anatomical and functional differences to understand why women have different outcomes and receive different treatment rates. The ultimate aim is to use these models to guide timing and type of aortic valve interventions to improve survival for women.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help clinicians tailor valve-timing and treatment strategies for women, potentially lowering complications and improving survival.
How similar studies have gone: Related AI and imaging approaches have shown promise for heart structure analysis, but applying sex-specific computational remodeling models to improve treatment decisions for women with severe AS is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Rikhtegar Nezami, Farhad — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Rikhtegar Nezami, Farhad
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Aortic valve calcium and risk of severe aortic stenosis in people over 75
This project looks at how common calcium on the aortic valve is in people over 75 and which factors make it more likely to progress to severe aortic narrowing.
-
Investigating aortic valve calcium and its risks in older adults
This study is looking at how common aortic valve calcification is in people aged 75 and older and how it might lead to serious heart problems, with the goal of finding ways to help those at higher risk.
-
Understanding how women's bodies respond to severe aortic stenosis to improve treatment outcomes
This study is looking at how severe aortic stenosis affects women differently than men, with the hope of creating better, personalized treatment plans for women to improve their heart valve replacement procedures.
-
Investigating how stiffening of the aorta from elastin loss causes SVAS
A new NIH grant is exploring why elastin loss leads to supravalvular aortic stenosis and how abnormal smooth muscle cell signaling causes the aorta to narrow in children.
-
Risk prediction for aortic stenosis and how statins might help in adults 75 and older
This grant seeks to identify which adults over 75 are at high risk for aortic valve disease and how statin therapy could influence that risk.
-
AI-powered screening and monitoring for aortic stenosis in older adults
A powerful new AI-based approach uses a simple heart rhythm test and a hand-held ultrasound to detect and monitor advanced aortic valve narrowing in people aged 65 and older.
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.