Cardiovascular disease research — NIH Funding Overview
Reviewed by Dr. Meng ZhaoLast reviewed June 9, 2026Data refreshed June 9, 2026Editorial standards
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) research at NIH is led by NHLBI, with contributions from NIA, NIDDK, and NHGRI on metabolic and genetic risk. Active areas include heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), atherosclerosis biology, hypertension, arrhythmia genetics, and population-level prevention.
Funding snapshot
Award data on this page reflects a snapshot of NIH RePORTER records last refreshed on June 9, 2026. For live numbers, use the interactive trends view.
Why this matters now
CVD remains the leading cause of death in the U.S., and NIH portfolios have expanded with the GLP-1 era to include cardiometabolic intersections. Implementation and equity science has grown alongside the BLOCK and STRIVE-related programs.
How NIH funds this area
NHLBI mechanisms include R01, U01, P01, K-series, and large clinical trial cooperative agreements (U10, U24). Data below covers all NIH awards mentioning cardiovascular in title, abstract, or terms.
How to use this funding brief
Use this page to narrow cardiovascular funding into heart failure, atherosclerosis, hypertension, arrhythmia, prevention, or implementation science. Broad totals are useful for scale, but institute fit becomes clearer only after choosing the clinical or biological decision your project addresses.
Official source: NHLBI: Heart and vascular diseases research
Search tactics
- Search "heart failure", "atherosclerosis", "hypertension", or "arrhythmia" for narrower scope.
- For population science, search "cardiovascular disparities" or "CVD prevention".
- NHLBI Comprehensive Sickle Cell Centers and population studies are large-scale anchors.
What the data shows
- Funding peaked in FY2023 at $4.1B. The FY2025 total of $3.6B is +1% versus FY2021.
- The number of awards fell about 7% in FY2025 even as total dollars grew — funding is concentrating in fewer, larger awards.
- About 86% of FY2026 dollars so far are renewals and continuations. Mid-year snapshots overweight renewals because non-competing continuations are issued early in the fiscal year, but the share still indicates how much of the portfolio is committed before new applications compete.
- The average FY2025 award was $622K, and R01 was the most common mechanism in the recent window.
Editorial read
Cardiovascular funding is large but flat: FY2025 is essentially unchanged from FY2021 and below the FY2023 peak, across one of the biggest award bases we track (more than 33,000 awards in five years). Flat nominal funding in a portfolio this size usually means intensifying competition at the margins — the momentum lives in subfields like heart failure, arrhythmia, and implementation science, so narrow the question before judging the market.
Yearly NIH Awards for Cardiovascular disease research
Counts and total funding per fiscal year from NIH RePORTER. Recent fiscal years may understate final totals because of reporting lag.
| Fiscal Year | Project Count | Total Funding | Avg Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | 6,397 | $3,578,554,183 | $559,411 |
| FY2022 | 6,386 | $3,760,667,691 | $588,893 |
| FY2023 | 6,421 | $4,050,061,643 | $630,752 |
| FY2024 | 6,248 | $3,807,423,922 | $609,383 |
| FY2025 | 5,814 | $3,618,212,000 | $622,327 |
| FY2026 | 2,146 | $1,275,591,186 | $594,404 |
Open the full interactive trends view for Cardiovascular disease research →
Top NIH Institutes (last 90 days)
Which NIH institutes funded the most CVD projects in the most recent 90-day window.
| Institute | Awards (90d) | Funding (90d) |
|---|---|---|
| NIH | 486 | $288,204,819 |
| VA | 14 | $0 |
Common Activity Codes (last 90 days)
Which grant mechanisms (R01, R21, U01, P30, etc.) appeared most often for CVD in the recent period.
Most Active Institutions (last 90 days)
Universities and research organizations with the most CVD awards in the most recent 90-day window.
- STANFORD UNIVERSITY — 17 awards
- MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL — 16 awards
- UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR — 13 awards
- NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY — 12 awards
- NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE — 12 awards
- MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN — 11 awards
- YALE UNIVERSITY — 10 awards
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO — 10 awards
Recently Awarded Cardiovascular disease research Grants
Twelve most recent awards mentioning CVD, drawn from NIH RePORTER. Click through to Find PIs for the full investigator search.
Cardiovascular Epidemiology Training Grant
5T32HL007055-50Wayne Rosamond · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL, NC · $352,441 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · T32ABSTRACT This competing continuation application builds on nine successful five-year cycles of NRSA/NHLBI supported academic and applied research training in cardiovascular (CV) epidemiology at the Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina (UNC), Gillings School of Global Public Health. The program's goal is to train effective and independent…
Epigenetic and genetic regulation of arsenic methylation and arsenic-relatedcardiovascular disease risk
4R00ES035109-03Anne Bozack · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, NY · $248,999 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R00SUMMARY In the United States, Native American communities face the greatest burden of chronic diseases among all ethnic groups and high rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and mortality. Elevated disease risk may be in part attributed to arsenic in drinking water, which is a key environmental risk factor among rural households that rely on…
Cellular and molecular bases for rhythmic GnRH release
5R37HD034860-30Suzanne MOENTER · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR, MI · $568,853 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R37Reproductive health is a window to overall health. Fifteen to 20% of couples have difficulty conceiving; failures of the reproductive system thus affect a substantial population. Beyond fertility, sex steroids alter development and function of many systems, for example, bone, the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system. Episodic release of…
Superwoman Coping: A multi-level analysis of self-management behaviors and cardiovascular disease risk among Black women with systemic lupus erythematosus
5F31AR084335-03Jerik Leung · EMORY UNIVERSITY, GA · $50,114 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · F31In the United States, about 90% of those living with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are women and rates of SLE are 2-4 times higher among Black individuals relative to the general population. Additionally, Black women bear a substantial burden of disease through disparities in outcomes such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), a significant comorbidity of…
ATF6 as a Regulator of Atrial Myocyte ER Proteostasis
1R01HL178630-01A1Chris Glembotski · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, AZ · $1,567,290 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R01The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the synthesis site of many membrane and secreted proteins, amounting to as much as 40% of all protein synthesis. Robust heart function depends on ER proteins, such as ion channels and hormones, emphasizing the importance of ER protein homeostasis, i.e. ER proteostasis in the heart. ER proteostasis comprises the balance of…
Impact of circulating and tissue-specific lipids on vascular function and insulin sensitivity in chronic night shift workers
3R01HL168081-03S1Josiane Broussard · COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY, CO · $197,274 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R01PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT There is growing recognition that timing of behaviors, such as eating, sleeping, and physical activity, have a significant impact on human health and disease risk. For example, when people are awake at the “wrong” time of the day (i.e. during the biological night), a mismatch occurs between behavior and biology, termed circadian…
Shaping the Future of Cardiovascular Medicine: Integrating Basic Science Breakthroughs to Clinical Impact
1R13HL186731-01Maria Kontaridis · MASONIC MEDICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY, INC, NY · $15,000 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R13ABSTRACT This proposal requests NHLBI support for the 2026 Scientific Sessions meeting presented by the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences (BCVS) of the American Heart Association (AHA). This meeting has become the “go to” meeting for basic and translational cardiovascular sciences by providing opportunities for established and emerging investigators…
Quantitative OCT angiography toward 4D blood flow analysis in embryonic cardiovascular system
5F31HL172596-03Michaela McCown · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, TX · $50,114 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · F31PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Congenital heart defects are present in 1.8% of newborns and account for one third of congenital defects. Despite all the research that has been done, 80% of cases have no identifiable causes. Biomechanical factors are known to regulate cardiac development, but the lack of methods to analyze flow in live embryos limits progress in…
Multipronged approach to diminish sympathetic hyperreflexia and ensuing cardiovascular and immune dysfunction after spinal cord injury
5R01NS122371-05Veronica Tom · DREXEL UNIVERSITY, PA · $428,541 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R01PROJECT SUMMARY Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating event sustained by as many as 1.3 million Americans. While not often appreciated, cardiovascular disease and susceptibility to infection are leading causes of mortality and morbidity in individuals living with SCI. One major reason thought to underlie these issues is SCI-induced dysregulation of the…
Endometriosis Diagnosis and Subtypes, Reproductive History, and Cardiovascular Disease
5R01HL164715-04Karen Schliep · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH, UT · $658,517 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R01PROJECT SUMMARY Endometriosis burdens ~11% of women and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality among US women. Women who have a history of endometriosis may be at increased risk of chronic diseases, including CVD due to higher levels of inflammation, greater risk of hypertension, and greater risk for hyperlipidemia. A few studies…
Molecular predictors of cardiovascular events and resilience in chronic coronary artery disease
5R01HL165208-04JONATHAN NEWMAN · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, NY · $730,988 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R01PROJECT ABSTRACT State-of-the-art risk assessments in chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) only partially capture risk for cardiovascular events (CVEs), leaving substantial ‘residual risk’ unaddressed. Current risk assessments also incompletely capture resilience to CAD, defined as those at high risk by contemporary algorithms—but without disease. This…
Exploring Functional Divergence in Human and Chimpanzee Arteries: Implications for Cardiovascular Disease
5F31HL178171-02Jeffrey Naftaly · STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CA · $43,647 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · F31PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and its rates are rapidly rising, especially in the developing world. Despite decades of research, many questions remain about the disease’s cellular and molecular processes. Chimpanzees, the closest living relative of humans, are not as susceptible to…
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