Cardiovascular and Pulmonary

For people with cardiovascular or pulmonary disease, there are very few drugs available that can either prevent or effectively treat their condition.

Mayo Clinic has developed a strong reputation for its laboratory-based and clinical research efforts in heart and lung disease — which are bolstered by its Heart and Lung Research Center — as well as its ability to take promising new medications through the drug development process and make them available to patients.

Cardiovascular and pulmonary disease research at Mayo Clinic is focused on two broad areas, which represent the more common heart and lung diseases around the world and among Mayo patients:

• Heart failure, including two diseases — coronary atherosclerosis and hypertension — that often contribute to it
• Pulmonary fibrosis, which can result from collagen vascular disease or arise without a known cause

For the treatment of heart failure, two novel drug candidates developed by Mayo researchers are showing potential. The most advanced of these — a designer peptide named CD-NP — is currently being evaluated in clinical trials. The second Mayo-developed drug candidate, a peptide called ANX-042, has the potential to protect the kidneys during heart failure.

To improve the care of people with pulmonary fibrosis Mayo researchers are testing innovative new drugs in cellular assays and animal models of the disease. As soon as this laboratory-based research is complete, the most encouraging drug candidates will be assessed in clinical trials.

Your contribution can support Mayo Clinic heart and lung researchers as they work to rapidly move these and other promising drugs from the laboratory into clinical trials — and ultimately into the hands of patients. Please give online or call 800-297-1185 (toll-free) to discuss your gift today.