Grant: Project Grant

Aortic valve disease is the most common form of heart valve disease in the developed world and a major burden to society. With the aging of the Canadian population, aortic valve disease is expected to become increasingly common. Currently, over 2.5 million individuals in North America have aortic stenosis, which is a narrowing of the aortic valve, the main valve of the heart, and this leads to symptoms of heart failure and sometimes death. Despite the major importance of this disease worldwide, there are currently no medical treatments to prevent the development of aortic stenosis. The lack of approaches for prevention stems in large part from a poor understanding of the causes of this disease. Using cutting-edge DNA technologies, we plan to build on our recent genetic discoveries. In this proposed project, we will participate in an international consortium scan the entire genome of more than 2.8 million individuals with and without aortic stenosis to try to pinpoint regions in the DNA that may predispose to the development of this disease. When combined with other biological data, this may provide clues for why certain people develop this disease. Ultimately, we hope to use these clues to help identify or develop drugs that could be useful to treat this disease. If successful, our program would be notable in several ways. First, it will represent the largest study of Aortic Valve Disease ever conducted. Second, we expect to glean major insights into the biology of this disease that may help us identify a treatment. Ultimately, a new treatment for aortic stenosis would significantly impact the cardiovascular health of many individuals in Canada and throughout the world.