Coordinator: Dr. Khamis Al Hashmi / College of Medicine & Health Sciences  

Abstract:

The cardiometabolic disorders and atherosclerosis group investigates the clinical characteristics, biomedical markers, genetic ascertainment and physiological aspects of cardiovascular disorders and atherosclerosis with special emphasis on hypercholesterolemia, obesity, diabetes,hypertension , sleep disorders and other components of the metabolic syndrome. In Oman CVD is number one leading cause of mortality and accounts for 33% of all deaths in Oman. Ischemic heart disease is the chief cause of mortality in Oman (15.1% of deaths). The incidence of Acute Coronary Syndrome among Omanis among the highest in the world (crude incidence rate of 338.9 per 100,000 person years).The information relating to these disorders such as the prevalence, risk factors, clinical characteristics, genetic aspects and appropriate management is limited. Therefore, conducting research to explore theses area will help in identifying the risk factors, new tools for risk assessments and new therapeutic approaches for these disorders and planning the appropriate approach and management for prevention and to reduce mortality and morbidity from these disorders that could lead to reduction in health expenditure. The research of the group span both the clinical and translational sciences and could be summarized as: - Research on dyslipidemia like familial hypercholesterolemia, familial hypertriglyceridemia and familial hypoalphalipoproteiniemia. Research studies in this area can includes establishing national registry, estimating the prevalence, determining the clinical characteristic and appropriate criteria for diagnosis, establishing the genetic abnormalities, investigating the effectiveness of available mode of treatment and establishing new modalities of subclinical diagnostic markers and new therapeutic modalities. -Research on Hypertension. It includes estimating the prevalence of different types of hypertension such as white coat hypertension and masked hypertension, determining the clinical characteristics of hypertensive patients, investigating the vascular changes to understand the possible mechanism leading to development of high blood pressure and assessment of rate of adherence to medications. In addition to investigating the association of high blood pressure with sleep disorders - Another avenue explored by the group would be evaluation of cardiovascular risk in women. More women die from heart attacks than men, and heart disease is number one killer of women worldwide. 1 in 3 women die from heart disease; while 1 in 30 die of cancer. This is a result of modern life styles and sedentary behaviors adopted by women where Oman is no exception.