Malamo Countouris
University of Pittsburgh, PA·Medicine & Clinical Research·Early-career
Preeclampsia is a dangerous high blood pressure disorder of pregnancy. Women who have had it face higher risk of heart disease for years after giving birth, yet no prevention strategies have been tested.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Physiology
Pharmacology
- Topics
preeclampsia
hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
cardio-obstetrics
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2031
What they work on
- Test in a randomized trial whether an angiotensin receptor blocker-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) lowers left ventricular mass index more than an angiotensin receptor blocker alone in women with prior preeclampsia and current hypertension.
- Use stress cardiac MRI quantitative perfusion imaging, which measures blood flow into heart muscle, to determine whether ARNI treatment improves coronary microvascular function compared with an ARB.
- Explore differences in serum biomarkers between ARNI and ARB groups and relate them to measures of left ventricular remodeling and microvascular function.
More about the research
Earlier work by Countouris found that women with a history of preeclampsia who now have high blood pressure are the most likely to show left ventricular remodeling in the decade after delivery. In remodeling, the heart's main pumping chamber thickens or changes shape, which signals a worse outlook. Preeclampsia history was also linked to coronary microvascular dysfunction, meaning the heart's smallest blood vessels do not work properly. This research sits in cardio-obstetrics, the field that joins heart medicine and pregnancy care.
Why it matters
Women with a history of preeclampsia carry elevated, largely unaddressed risk of later heart disease. This trial is among the first midlife interventions for this group. It could show whether an ARNI drug reverses harmful heart changes and improves small-vessel function. Positive results would support a larger trial and may help shape heart disease prevention for these high-risk women.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
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The school
University of Pittsburgh: 83 labs on PI Pages, $1.5B a year on research, 403 research doctorates a year.
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