Early life influences on heart health

Endothelial dysfunction and predisposition to hypertension: cardiovascular studies in offspring of hypertensive pregnancies

Professor Paul Leeson at the University of Oxford has been awarded a Senior Clinical Research Fellowship to investigate how early life influences, like being born prematurely, could affect heart health later on in life. Professor Leeson and colleagues have shown that young adults who were born prematurely because their mothers had severe problems with their blood pressure during pregnancy have higher blood pressure themselves and that this appears to be because of differences in how their blood vessel lining (endothelium) works. In this fellowship, Professor Leeson will find out whether this dysfunctional endothelium is already present at birth and whether the biological mechanisms that caused high blood pressure in the mother might also be relevant to their offspring's blood pressure. As predisposition to high blood pressure is closely associated with increased heart muscle thickness he will then study whether there are links between their blood vessel function and heart function during early life. These studies will provide insights into how these young adults become predisposed to higher blood pressure and thus identify potential ways to prevent the problem.