Four Northeast Ohio institutions get $2.7M grant for heart study

Four Northeast Ohio institutions have received a four-year, $2.7 million federal grant to study cognitive impairment in heart failure patients.

The study’s goal is to understand why heart failure patients often have trouble managing their complex medical regimen, according to a statement from Kent State University.

The other collaborating institutions on the project are the Case Western Reserve University School of Nursing, Summa Health System of Akron and University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, according to a statement from Kent State.

The researchers hope to lower health system costs associated with hospital re-admittance of heart failure patients, as well costs associated with patients’ failure to adhere to their medication instructions.

Little is known about how the cognitive status of heart failure patients affects management of their illness , according to Dr. Joel Hughes, a Kent State psychology professor and the study’s co-principal investigator.

“We know there’s impairment,” Hughes said. “If you have a mild cognitive impairment, we think it’s harder to manage your illness, but there is no clear evidence of this.”

The study is expected to involve 400 Northeast Ohio patients aged 50 to 85 years old.