Kevin Heffernan, assistant professor in Exercise Science in the School of Education, has contributed to a significant scientific position paper, issued by the American Heart Association. The statement, titled Recommendations for Improving and Standardizing Vascular Research on Arterial Stiffness, A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association, was published in the September 2015 issue of Hypertension.
“As the American Heart Association has recognized, Kevin is a member of a select group of experts’ world-wide,” says Tom Brutsaert, professor and chair. “His work on arterial stiffness has brought visibility to both the department and to the University. We are proud of Kevin as a colleague, and proud also that the discipline of Exercise Science is contributing in a fundamental way to the overall public health discourse in the United States.”
Arterial stiffness(also known as hardening or thickening of the arteries) influences how hard the heart has to work to pump blood through the body.Increased arterial stiffnessis associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events such as strokes.
Heffernan says that he got involvedwith the collaborative piece after Raymond Townsend MD, Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and the president of the North American Artery Association contacted him. Heffernan says he was elated that this prominent group of individuals recognized the importance of lifestyle and physical activity, and felt the honored to be invited to contribute. Fourteen professionals collaborated on the piece including cardiologists, pediatricians, and other medical professionals.
“The arteries connect all of the organs, but they also connect different disciplines,” says Heffernan. Heffernan was the youngest of the experts on the team, and the only exercise scientist. Collaborating with so many individuals was challenging at times, he says, but the process led to great discussions and debates.
The position paper, (the size of a text book) contains an online supplement that is over 200 pages long, with 900 references. “It is meant to provide a nice overview of the area of arterial stiffness,” says Heffernan. He also believes that it will be a well utilized tool. Heffernan has already given talks on the piece at national conferences and says that other articles stemming from this position paper are in the works.
Heffernan’s research examines the interaction of diet, nutritional supplementation, and exercise, with an emphasis on resistance exercise, on vascular function in health, disease and disability throughout the human lifespan. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has presented internationally on the topic of exercise and vascular health. Heffernan serves as the director of the Human Performance Laboratory (HPL), is an external grant reviewer for the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine.