Paul Ridker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Ridker
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| Born | 1959 (age 65–66) |
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Paul M. Ridker (born 1959) is a doctor and scientist. He studies heart disease and how to prevent it. He is a professor at Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital. There, he leads a center focused on preventing heart and blood vessel diseases. He also teaches at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Dr. Ridker's research has shown that inflammation plays a big role in atherosclerosis. This is a condition where plaque builds up in your arteries. He helped create the first test approved to check for inflammation in blood vessels. He also found the first treatment that uses anti-inflammatory medicine to help people with coronary artery disease. He is known as one of the most important researchers in heart medicine worldwide.
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Early life and education
Paul Ridker was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1959. He went to Brown University and earned his science degree in 1981. He then studied at Harvard Medical School, becoming a doctor in 1986. He finished his medical training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. In 1992, he earned another degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Discovering how inflammation affects the heart
Dr. Ridker's research looks at what causes heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. He uses different scientific methods to find answers. He helped develop a test called high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). This test measures inflammation in the body. Doctors use it to see a person's risk of heart attack or stroke.
He also came up with the idea of "residual inflammatory risk." This means some people are at risk of heart problems because of inflammation, not just high cholesterol. Dr. Ridker noticed that nearly half of all heart attack patients did not have high cholesterol. He found that inflammation, shown by high hsCRP levels, was often the cause of their risk.
Inflammation and heart attack risk
In 1997, Dr. Ridker showed that high levels of hsCRP in healthy people meant a higher risk. They were more likely to have a future heart attack, stroke, or diabetes. This was true even if other risk factors were low.
From 1998 to 2005, he found that people with high hsCRP but low cholesterol were still at risk. He also discovered that statin medicines, which lower cholesterol, also reduced hsCRP. This meant statins had important anti-inflammatory effects.
This led to a big study called the JUPITER trial. In 2008, this study showed something amazing. People with high hsCRP could cut their risk of heart attack or stroke in half. They did this by taking statin medicine, even if their cholesterol was already low.
New treatments for heart disease
Dr. Ridker and his team then focused on a specific inflammation pathway in the body. This pathway involves certain proteins like Interleukin-1b and Interleukin-6. They wanted to see if blocking this pathway could help heart patients.
In 2010, he started two major studies: CANTOS and CIRT. The CANTOS study finished in 2017. It showed that a medicine called Canakinumab could greatly reduce heart attacks and deaths. This medicine works by blocking Interleukin-1 beta, a key inflammation protein. Canakinumab did not affect cholesterol or blood pressure. This was the first clear proof that reducing inflammation directly helps prevent heart disease. The study also found that the more inflammation was reduced, the better the heart benefits.
The CIRT study, however, showed no benefit from a different medicine, Methotrexate. This was because Methotrexate did not lower the specific inflammation markers (Interleukin-1b, Interleukin-6, or CRP). This helped scientists understand that targeting the right inflammation pathway is key. Later studies in 2019 and 2020 confirmed these findings with another medicine called Colchicine. Dr. Ridker's group is still working to see if directly blocking Interleukin-6 can improve heart health.
Wider impact of inflammation research
Dr. Ridker's work has also shown benefits beyond heart disease. The CANTOS study found that reducing inflammation could also lower the risk of lung cancer. This has led to new research into using anti-inflammatory medicines for cancer treatment. His work has also shown possible benefits for conditions like anemia, renal failure (kidney problems), and osteoarthritis (joint pain).
Dr. Ridker has led many important medical studies. These include PRINCE, JUPITER, CANTOS, and CIRT.
Honors and awards
- 2020, Chosen as a Member of the National Academy of Medicine
- 2013, Received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Heart Association
- 2012, Chosen as a Member of the American Clinical and Climatological Association
- 2009, Received an honorary doctorate from Utrecht University, The Netherlands
- 2009, Received an honorary doctorate from Interamerican Open University
- 2007, Named a Distinguished Fellow by the International Atherosclerosis Society
- 2005, Received the NIH Director’s Astute Clinician Award from the National Institutes of Health
- 2004, Named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential Scientists & Thinkers
- 2001, Named one of TIME magazine's America's Ten Best Researchers in Science and Medicine
- 2002, Chosen as a Fellow of the Association of American Physicians
- 2000, Chosen as a Member of the American Epidemiological Society
- 1999, Chosen as a Member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation
- 1993, Chosen as a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology
See also
- JUPITER trial
