Essentia Health advances heart disease research through All of Us program

Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the United States. In fact, more than 8,500 people in Minnesota died from heart disease in 2021. Scientific advances are key to fighting these conditions and improving outcomes.

That’s one reason Essentia Health is proud to partner with the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program. Of the research program’s participants in Minnesota, 449 of them reported having heart disease. Their contributions through All of Us — a years-long effort aimed at building a diverse health database featuring one million participants — are advancing medical research.

Essentia collaborates with All of Us to help ensure people in Minnesota, including those historically underrepresented in medical research, have the opportunity to participate in this landmark program. Their participation is equipping researchers with data that could lead to more tailored approaches to prevent and treat heart disease, and further our understanding of a range of different diseases and disorders.

“Everyone has a health story. For some, it may be high blood pressure or a family history of heart attacks,” said Dr. Catherine Benziger, a cardiologist at Essentia. “By sharing health data with All of Us, participants can contribute to thousands of research studies and help change the trajectory of medical research for generations to come. Researchers are able to use information that participants provide about their health history, lifestyle and where they live, alongside data from electronic health records and DNA, to get a more complete picture of health than has previously been available to study.”

People interested in participating or learning more about the All of Us Research Program can visit EssentiaHealth.org/AllofUs or call (877) 340-8058.

Nationwide, more than 35,000 All of Us participants reported having different heart problems on a survey about their personal health history — including atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, heart attack and heart valve disease. This makes All of Us one of the largest groups of heart disease patients providing data for research.

Overall, more than 400,000 participants have joined All of Us since it began national enrollment in 2018. About 80 percent of participants represent communities that have been historically underrepresented in medical research, and nearly 50 percent identify with a racial or ethnic minority group.

Heart disease is responsible for 1 in 5 deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Individuals from racial and ethnic communities historically underrepresented in medical research face a disproportionate toll. In 2018, African-Americans were 30 percent more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic whites, and American Indians/Alaska Natives were 50 percent more likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease than people who are white, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.