News

February 2026 was the 10th consecutive year that faculty and staff from the WashU Medicine Cardiovascular Division have visited the Normandy School District to bring heart health education to middle school students. What began in 2016 as Dr. Linda Peterson’s vision to expand medical knowledge to students who might not otherwise have exposure to it has grown into a beloved annual tradition, known as Project Heartstrong. This educational community outreach effort is a meaningful investment in the health and futures of North St. Louis County youth.

WashU Medicine researchers including Cardiovascular Divison’s Kory Lavine, MD, PhD have received two grants from the NIH to study the roles of troponin — a critical protein in the heart — in various forms of heart failure.

For more than a decade, St. Louis Magazine has hosted its annual Excellence in Nursing Awards, spotlighting the remarkable efforts of nurses in a special print issue each year. Throughout the years, the magazine has recognized more than 500 outstanding nurses across a wide range of practice areas and levels of expertise, from emerging leaders to those with decades of experience. From the Cardiovascular Division, we are proud to recognize two of our outstanding nurses, Tonya Becker of Electrophysiology and Sharon Heuerman of Clinical Research, who are finalists.

February, a month traditionally associated with love, also brings attention to something equally vital: heart health. Recognized as Heart Health Awareness Month, February is dedicated to raising awareness about cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which continue to be the leading cause of death worldwide. Join us in highlighting the importance of heart health and taking steps to prevent CVD.

Scientists have designed an immunotherapy that reduces plaque in the arteries of mice, presenting a possible new treatment strategy against heart disease. The antibody-based therapy could complement traditional methods of managing coronary artery disease that focus on lowering cholesterol through diet or medications such as statins, according to the findings of a new study led by researchers at the Lavine Lab at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Layne Helmering and her family lost their son Nicholas last year to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A high school senior and captain of his debate team, Nicholas passed away suddenly in his sleep. In the wake of this tragic loss, Nicholas’s debate team held a fundraiser, coming together to raise awareness of HCM, a disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body.