Women’s Heart Disease Study

Researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington are recruiting older women for a study of heart disease, the leading cause of death among women.

Women of color, women with a history of past depression, and those with adult onset diabetes are especially needed for the study.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in developed countries, but it has not been sufficiently studied in women. “We know that people with a history of depression are more likely to develop heart disease than people without depression,” says Julie Wagner, principal investigator for the study at UConn Health Center. “And, we know that women with diabetes are more likely to suffer from depression and to develop heart disease, but we are only starting to understand these connections.”

The study is funded by the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health at the Health Center. Participants must be nonsmoking, postmenopausal women who do not have heart disease and have not had a hysterectomy. They will be asked to visit the Health Center twice, complete an interview and some questionnaires, provide urine, saliva, and blood samples, and undergo a painless sound-wave test of the blood vessel in their arms. Results of the tests will be made available to participants’ physicians if they wish.

For more information about the study, call 860-679-7692 or toll fee in Connecticut 800-535-6232.