FHS CELEBRATING ITS 75TH ANNIVERSARY

On September 29, 2023, the Framingham Heart Study celebrated its 75th anniversary.

In 1948, under the direction of the National Health Institute (now the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the NIH), researchers of the Framingham Heart Study opened its doors and recruited 5,209 men and women, about two-thirds of town’s adult population. The objective was to identify the common factors that contribute Cardiovascular Disease by following its development over a long period of time in participants who have not yet developed overt symptoms of Cardiovascular Disease or suffered a heart attack or stroke. Since then the study has partnered with Boston University and enrolled 15,447 people. These participants, all of varying ages and backgrounds, are now integral to the science looking into cardiovascular disease, risk of stroke and Alzheimer’s, and even delving into the human genome.

These participants have change the health of a nation and now that nation takes a moment to reflect on all that those participants have helped it to achieve.