Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) Cohort: an NHLBI-funded observational study of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in adults 65 years or older

The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) is a prospective study of risk factors for development and progression of CHD and stroke in people aged 65 years and older. The 5,888 study participants were recruited from four U.S. communities and have undergone extensive clinic examinations for evaluation of markers of subclinical cardiovascular disease. The original cohort, enrolled in 1989-90, totaled 5,201 participants. A supplemental cohort of 687 predominantly African-American participants was enrolled in 1992-93.

Clinic examinations were performed at study baseline and at annual visits through 1998-1999, and again in 2005-2006. Examination components included medical and personal history, medication inventory, ECG, blood pressure, anthropometry, assessment of physical and cognitive function, and depression screening. Other components done less frequently included phlebotomy, spirometry, echocardiography, carotid ultrasound, cerebral magnetic resonance imaging, measurement of ankle-brachial index and retinal exam. Participants were contacted by telephone annually between exams to collect information about hospitalizations and potential cardiovascular events. Since 1999, participants have been contacted every six months by phone, primarily to identify cardiovascular events and to assess physical and cognitive health.

Standard protocols for the identification and adjudication of events were implemented during follow-up. The adjudicated events are myocardial infarction, angina, heart failure (HF), stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), claudication and mortality.

The Cardiovascular Health Study Cohort is utilized in the following dbGaP substudies. To view genotypes, analysis, expression data, other molecular data, and derived variables collected in these substudies, please click on the following substudies below or in the "Substudies" section of this top-level study page phs000287 Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) Cohort: an NHLBI-funded observational study of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in adults 65 years or older.

• Study Weblinks:
  • CHS
• Study Design:
  • Prospective Longitudinal Cohort
• Study Type:
  • Longitudinal
• Total number of consented subjects: 5609
• Subject Sample Telemetry Report (SSTR)

• BioProject
• PubMed
• Sequence Read Archive
• BioSample
• MeSH

The four Field Centers of the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) are located in Forsyth County, NC; Sacramento County, CA; Washington County, MD; and Pittsburgh, PA. Each community sample was obtained from random samples of the Medicare eligibility lists of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). Eligible to participate were persons living in the household of each sampled individual who were: 1) aged 65 years or older; 2) non-institutionalized; 3) expected to remain in the area for 3 years; and 4) able to give informed consent. Excluded were those wheelchair-bound, receiving hospice care or cancer treatment. Participants were eligible whether or not they had clinically apparent cardiovascular disease.

• 1987: CHS initiated by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
• 1989-1990: Original cohort of 5,201 participants enrolled
• 1992-1993: Supplemental cohort of 687 predominantly African-American participants enrolled
• 1989-1999: Annual clinic examinations conducted, with intervening 6-month telephone contacts
• 2000-present: Twice yearly telephone contacts
• 2005-2006: CHS "All-Stars" examination

• Primary Phenotype: Cardiovascular Diseases
• Cerebrovascular Disorders
• Stroke
• Aging
• Atherosclerosis
• Myocardial Infarction
• Angina Pectoris
• Coronary Artery Disease
• Intermittent Claudication
• Heart Failure
• Ischemic Attack, Transient
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Kidney Failure, Chronic

• CHS Principal Investigators and Study Sites
  • http://www.chs-nhlbi.org/pi.
• Project Officer
  • Phyliss Sholinsky, MSPH. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
• CHS Coordinating Center
  • Bruce Psaty, MD, PhD. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
  • Richard Kronmal, PhD. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
• CHS Field Centers
  • Calvin H. Hirsch, MD. University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
  • Michelle Carlson, PhD. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
  • Gregory Burke, MD. Wake Forest Unversity School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
  • Anne B. Newman, MD, MPH. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
• CHS Collaborating Centers
  • Russell Tracy, PhD. Blood Laboratory, University of Vermont, Colchester, VT, USA.
  • John Gottdiener, MD. Echocardiography Reading Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore, M.
  • Elsayed Soliman, MD. EPICARE Center, Wake Forest Unversity School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
  • James T. Becker, PhD. MRI Archive, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
  • Paul Enright, MD. Respiratory Sciences Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
  • Ronald Klein, MD. Retinal Reading Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
  • Donald H. O'Leary, MD. Ultrasound Reading Center, Tufts New England Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
• Funding Sources
  • N01HC85079. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • N01HC85080. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • N01HC85081. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • N01HC85082. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • N01HC85083. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • N01HC85086. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • N01HC55222. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • U01HL080295. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • R01HL087652. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • HHSN268201200036C. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • HHSN268200800007C. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • U01HL130014. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • HHSN268201800001C. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • 75N92021D00006. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
  • R01AG023629. National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.