Portfolio analysis on preeclampsia and pregnancy-associated hypertension research funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Chronic hypertension and preeclampsia are the most common complications of pregnancy. To clarify the contributions of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to the field and identify potential research gaps, we performed portfolio analysis of awards related to preeclampsia and pregnancy-associated hypertension. A list of National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded awards between fiscal years 2008-present was obtained through an NIH RePORTER search using the following terms: "preeclampsia" and "pregnancy-associated hypertension." More in-depth analyses were performed on currently active awards supported by the NHLBI. The NHLBI is the lead institute at the NIH in funding research related to pregnancy-associated hypertension and second leading in funding research related to preeclampsia. The NHLBI currently supports 38 awards related to preeclampsia and six awards related to pregnancy-associated hypertension, with a combined total dollar investment of $21 million. Of the currently active, NHLBI-supported awards on preeclampsia and pregnancy-associated hypertension combined, 47% are related to basic science research, 30% to clinical, 14% to clinical trials, and 9% to early translational research. The focus of NHLBI-funded awards is primarily on vascular mechanisms and short and long-term cardiovascular complications of preeclampsia and pregnancy-associated hypertension. Despite steady funding for research on preeclampsia and pregnancy-associated hypertension, several gaps in knowledge exist. NHLBI held a workshop entitled Predicting, Preventing and Treating Preeclampsia to address some of these gaps and inform future research directions for the institute.