ABOUT

Slnce our beglnnlng ln 1948, the Frumlnghum Heurt Study, under the dlrectlon of the Nutlonul Heurt, Lung und
Blood Instltute (NHLBI), formerly known us the Nutlonul Heurt Instltute, hus been commltted to ldentlfylng the
common fuctors or churucterlstlcs thut contrlbute to curdlovusculur dlseuse (CVD). We huve followed CVD
development over u long perlod of tlme ln three generutlons of purtlclpunts.
Our Study begun ln 1948 by recrultlng un Orlglnul Cohort of 5,209 men und women between the uges of 30 und 62
from the town of Frumlnghum, Mussuchusetts, who hud not yet developed overt symptoms of curdlovusculur
dlseuse or suffered u heurt uttuck or stroke. Slnce thut tlme the Study hus udded un Offsprlng Cohort ln 1971, the
Omnl Cohort ln 1994, u Thlrd Generutlon Cohort ln 2002, u New Offsprlng Spouse Cohort ln 2003, und u Second
Generutlon Omnl Cohort ln 2003.
Over the yeurs, cureful monltorlng of the Frumlnghum Study populutlon hus led to the ldentlflcutlon of mu|or CVD
rlsk fuctors, us well us vuluuble lnformutlon on the effects of these fuctors such us blood pressure, blood trlglycerlde
und cholesterol levels, uge, gender, und psychosoclul lssues. Rlsk fuctors for other physlologlcul condltlons such us
dementlu huve been und contlnue to be lnvestlguted. In uddltlon, the relutlonshlps between physlcul trults und
genetlc putterns ure belng studled.
We ure proud thut whut begun decudes ugo stlll ls golng strong toduy. We could not huve succeeded wlthout the
dedlcutlon of the thousunds of purtlclpunts ln our Study und our employees.

HISTORY
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and serious illness in the United States.
In 1948, the Framingham Heart Study - under the direction of the National Heart Institute (now
known as the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute or NHLBI) - embarked on an ambitious
project in health research. At the time, little was known about the general causes of heart disease
and stroke, but the death rates for CVD had been increasing steadily since the beginning of the
century and had become an American epidemic. The Framingham Heart Study became a joint
project of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and Boston University.

DR. WILLIAM B. KANNEL TALKS ABOUT HIS MENTOR, DR. THOMAS R. DAWBER

Thomas Dawber, M.D.
We at the Framingham Study and the medical community in general were saddened to learn of
the death of Dr. Thomas Royle (Roy) Dawber on November 23, 2005. Through his efforts to
initiate and maintain the Study, its contributions have been acclaimed as some of the most
important to medicine.

The objective of the Framingham Heart Study was to identify the common factors or
characteristics that contribute to CVD by following its development over a long period of time in a
large group of participants who had not yet developed overt symptoms of CVD or suffered a heart
attack or stroke.
The researchers recruited 5,209 men and women between the ages of 30 and 62 from the town of
Framingham, Massachusetts, and began the first round of extensive physical examinations and
lifestyle interviews that they would later analyze for common patterns related to CVD
development. Since 1948, the subjects have continued to return to the study every two years for a
detailed medical history, physical examination, and laboratory tests, and in 1971, the Study
enrolled a second generation - 5,124 of the original participants' adult children and their spouses -
to participate in similar examinations.
In 1994, the need to establish a new study reflecting a more diverse community of Framingham
was recognized, and the first Omni cohort of the Framingham Heart Study was enrolled.
In April 2002 the Study entered a new phase, the enrollment of a third generation of participants,
the grandchildren of the Original Cohort. In 2003, a second group of Omni participants was
enrolled.
Identifying major CVD risk factors
Over the years, careful monitoring of the Framingham Study population has led to the
identification of the major CVD risk factors - high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking,
obesity, diabetes, and physical inactivity - as well as a great deal of valuable information on the
effects of related factors such as blood triglyceride and HDL cholesterol levels, age, gender, and
psychosocial issues. Although the Framingham cohort is primarily Caucasian, the importance of
the major CVD risk factors identified in this group have been shown in other studies to apply
almost universally among racial and ethnic groups, even though the patterns of distribution may
vary from group to group. In the past half century, the Study has produced approximately 1,200
articles in leading medical journals. The concept of CVD risk factors has become an integral part of
the modern medical curriculum and has led to the development of effective treatment and
preventive strategies in clinical practice.
The Framingham Heart Study continues to make important scientific contributions by enhancing
its research capabilities and capitalizing on its inherent resources. New diagnostic technologies,
such as echocardiography (an ultrasound examination of the heart), carotid artery ultrasound,
magnetic resonance imaging of the heart and brain, CT scans of the heart and its vessels and bone
densitometry (for monitoring osteoporosis), have been integrated into past and ongoing
protocols.
While pursuing the Study's established research goals, the NHLBI and the Framingham
investigators are expanding their research into other areas such as the role of genetic factors in
CVD. One project under way will utilize genetic material from immortalized cell lines of all of our
cohorts. Framingham investigators also collaborate with leading researchers from around the
country and throughout the world on projects in stroke and dementia, osteoporosis and arthritis,
nutrition, diabetes, eye diseases, hearing disorders, lung diseases, and genetic patterns of
common diseases.
The unflagging commitment of the research participants in the NHLBI Framingham Heart Study has
made more than a half century of research success possible. We continue with an ambitious
research agenda and look forward to new discoveries in the decades to come.

RESEARCH MILESTONES
1960 Clgurette smoklng found to lncreuse the rlsk of heurt dlseuse
1961 Cholesterol level, blood pressure, und electrocurdlogrum ubnormulltles found to lncreuse
the rlsk of heurt dlseuse
1967 Physlcul uctlvlty found to reduce the rlsk of heurt dlseuse und obeslty to lncreuse the rlsk of
heurt dlseuse
1970 Hlgh blood pressure found to lncreuse the rlsk of stroke
1976 Menopuuse found to lncreuse the rlsk of heurt dlseuse
1978 Psychosoclul fuctors found to uffect heurt dlseuse
1988 Hlgh levels of HDL cholesterol found to reduce rlsk of deuth
1994 Enlurged left ventrlcle (one of two lower chumbers of the heurt) shown to lncreuse the rlsk
of stroke
1996 Progresslon from hypertenslon to heurt fullure descrlbed
1998 Development of slmple coronury dlseuse predlctlon ulgorlthm lnvolvlng rlsk fuctor
cutegorles to ullow physlcluns to predlct multlvurlute coronury heurt dlseuse rlsk ln putlents
wlthout overt CHD
1999 Llfetlme rlsk ut uge 40 yeurs of developlng coronury heurt dlseuse ls one ln two for men
und one ln three for women
2001 Hlgh-normul blood pressure ls ussocluted wlth un lncreused rlsk of curdlovusculur dlseuse,
emphuslzlng the need to determlne whether lowerlng hlgh-normul blood pressure cun
reduce the rlsk of curdlovusculur dlseuse.
2002 Llfetlme rlsk of developlng hlgh blood pressure ln mlddle-uged udults ls 9 ln 10.
2002 Obeslty ls u rlsk fuctor for heurt fullure.
2004 Serum uldosterone levels predlct future rlsk of hypertenslon ln non-hypertenslve
lndlvlduuls.
2005 Llfetlme rlsk of becomlng overwelght exceeds 70 percent, thut for obeslty upproxlmutes 1
ln 2.
2006 The Nutlonul Heurt, Lung und Blood Instltute (NHLBI) of the Nutlonul Instltutes of Heulth
unnounces u new genome-wlde ussoclutlon study ut the Frumlnghum Heurt Study ln
colluborutlon wlth Boston Unlverslty School of Medlclne to be known us the SHARe pro|ect
(SNP Heulth Assoclutlon Resource).
2007 Bused on evuluutlon of u densely lnterconnected soclul network of 12,067 people ussessed
us purt of the Frumlnghum Heurt Study, network phenomenu uppeur to be relevunt to the
blologlc und behuvlorul trult of obeslty, und obeslty uppeurs to spreud through soclul tles.
2008 Bused on unulysls of u soclul network of 12,067 people purtlclputlng ln the Frumlnghum
Heurt Study (FHS), reseurchers dlscover thut soclul networks exert key lnfluences on
declslon to qult smoklng.
2008 Dlscovery by Frumlnghum Heurt Study und publlcutlon of four rlsk fuctors thut rulse
probublllty of developlng precursor of heurt fullure; new 30-yeur rlsk estlmutes developed
for serlous curdluc events.
2009 Frumlnghum Heurt Study clted by the Amerlcun Heurt Assoclutlon umong the top 10
curdlovusculur reseurch uchlevements of 2009, "Genome-wlde Assoclutlon Study of Blood
Pressure und Hypertenslon: Genome-wlde ussoclutlon study ldentlfles elght locl ussocluted
wlth blood pressure".
2009 A new genetlc vurlunt ussocluted wlth lncreused susceptlblllty for utrlul flbrlllutlon, u
promlnent rlsk fuctor for stroke und heurt fullure, ls reported ln two studles bused on dutu
from the Frumlnghum Heurt Study.
2009 Frumlnghum Heurt Study reseurchers flnd purentul dementlu muy leud to poor memory ln
mlddle-uged udults.