University of Newcastle researchers have received more than $1M in funding from the Heart Foundation, helping to support their studies into the causes, prevention and treatment of heart disease.
Despite improvements in its prevention, diagnosis and treatment, coronary heart disease is still Australia’s single biggest killer.
University of Newcastle researchers receiving funding through the Heart Foundation’s 2021 grant scheme include Dr Michelle Bovill, Dr Alice Grady, Professor Jennifer Bowman, Professor Phil Morgan, Professor Tracy Burrows and Dr Tatt Jhong Haw.
Researchers are investigating different aspects, preventions, treatments and causations of heart disease.
Projects explore childcare-based obesity prevention, addictive and compulsive overeating, and exercise programs that help improve cardiovascular health for Indigenous Australian families.
University of Newcastle Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Tatt Jhong Haw and his co-investigator Dr Henry Gomez are exploring the cardiopulmonary impacts of prolonged exposure to bushfire smoke particulate matter and other environmental hazards in regional Australia.
Dr Haw said the research into bushfire smoke and its impacts on cardiovascular health was instigated by the devastating Australian bushfires of 2019-2020.
“We saw some people who had increased respiratory problems and complaints of chest issues, so we wanted to find out what research had been done in regards to impacts of bushfires and cardiovascular health,” he said.
“To my surprise, not much research had been done at all.
“If we specifically look at respiratory diseases such as asthma, there’s hardly any evidence or research into linking bushfire particulate and worsening asthma symptoms. There is generally no consensus on whether bush fire particulate has any impact on the cardiovascular system, so we wanted to explore that.”
He said it was particularly concerning for regions like Newcastle and the Hunter, which have additional hazardous air pollutants like coal mines and trains.
“We know that coal dust does have adverse effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular system,” Dr Haw said.
“Given the locality of Newcastle and the Hunter region, we really have a population of people that are continuously exposed to coal dust pollutants.
“Once devastating bushfires are added to the mix, we have a large population of people who are breathing in particulates that could be having harmful effects on their cardiopulmonary health.”
Dr Haw said the funding would help get the project off the ground and fill information gaps around the critical issue.
“We do not know what the long-term impacts these bushfire pollutants will have on cardiopulmonary health, and this grant will help kickstart that,” Dr Haw said.
“Once we have that knowledge, we can become better informed and help those who may suffer from related diseases.
“In the future, we will also be able to extend our research and study other natural disasters that produce or carry hazardous particulate matter and the long-term impacts they might be having on our health.”
Hayley McMahon