🔨 Celebrating 75 Years of the Heart Study
Daniel’s Table is Moving | Community Events | What I’m Reading | The Civic Week Ahead
Wasn’t that eclipse something, Framingham?
Driving around Framingham to the moody tones of Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”, I saw neighbors, co-workers, families, school kids gathered wearing - or sharing - eclipse glasses. They were on the Centre Common, outside nursing homes, on sidewalks and front yards, or in front of businesses. The world came to a halt and we all looked up at the sky in wonder.
Monday was more than simply science. It showed that even through the busyness of modern life, nature is powerful in bringing us together. It was a community moment. It was a goosebump moment. It was a reminder of what community and humanity are truly all about.
Not sure what to do with your eclipse glasses? Don’t throw them away! Bring them to Framingham’s Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 20. Our Recycling Coordinator is collecting them. The glasses will then be sent to an organization that will distribute them in South America for the eclipse in October.
Now that is an example of being part of the global community.
Have a question about the goings on in Framingham? Drop me an email and I’ll answer it in the next Ham’er Mailbag.
The best way to help The Ham’er and, dare I be so bold, build community in Framingham is to forward The Ham’er to your neighbors.
If you are that neighbor, subscribe here.
Celebrating 75 Years of the Framingham Heart Study
Seventy-nine years ago this week, President Franklin D. Roosevelt suddenly died from a stroke due to his out of control hypertension. When he died in 1945, heart disease was the number one killer in the country. His high blood pressure was considered a normal part of aging, and not caused by the decades of chain smoking and his love of nightly cocktails. Yet, it was his death that highlighted the lack of understanding around heart disease.
President Harry S. Truman signed the National Heart Act in 1948. The Act created the National Heart Institute and allotted $500,000 for a 20 year study focused on cardiovascular disease.
This study became known as the Framingham Heart Study.
The Framingham Heart Study reached its 75th anniversary last October. But on Monday, the anniversary celebration was in full swing in Nevins Hall in the Memorial Building.
Heart study participants, doctors, researchers, and community leaders gathered to celebrate the landmark and revolutionary Framingham Heart Study.
"You are part of a critical contribution to health care, not just to Framingham, not just to our country, but to all people. You have the rare distinction of making impacts of truly global proportions. Thank you for believing in what can be and making it a reality,” said Congresswoman Katherine Clark at the beginning of the program.
Framingham, at the time of the study, was mostly working class with General Motors and Dennison Manufacturing Company the biggest employers. The population was around 20,000.
5,209 men and women - about ⅔ of the town’s adult population! - were recruited to participate.
The selection of these individuals was revolutionary because: 1.) It enrolled both men and women. Up until this time, it was not common for women to participate in such activities, and 2.) by recruiting families, it presented another generation of participants and later resulted in helping the science of genetics by creating a database of family generations.
Every two years the participants came in for exams.
The last member of the original group passed away last fall at the age of 105.
The second generation cohort started in 1971 with 5,124 children of the original cohort and some spouses. The third generation started in 2002 with 4,095 grandchildren and their spouses of the original cohort.
Omni cohorts, composed of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, were recruited in the 1990s, with 507 participants, and in 2003-2005 with another 410 of their children.
Boston University partnered with FHS in 1971. Over the last 75 years, 15,447 people have enrolled in the study.
So, what has the medical community learned over these eight decades?
“Much of what we’ve learned specifically from this study has become common knowledge,” said Monica Bertagnolli, director of the National Institutes of Health.
“Americans, not just their doctors, now understand the risk factors for heart disease, among them high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, unhealthy weight,” said Bertagnoli. “And just as important, we’ve also learned that we can change these risk factors, and if we do it saves lives.”
A new way of thinking - “risk factors” - came out of the study. The fact heart disease wasn’t a given due to age, but caused by blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, weight, and diet changed medicine forever. Following healthy people over decades gave researchers new insight to how risk factors early in life may translate into disease later.
The study changed the conversation from heart disease as being inevitable to smoking cessation and healthier diets.
The study was also one of the first to use echocardiograms and stress-testing on large groups of people to show that structural changes can be early warning signs of heart disease.
Many of the doctors who spoke on Monday talked about how the FHS research was a must read while in medical school. More than 3,000 research papers cite the FHS.
On a personal note, my brother-in-law’s grandfather Dr. Michael Bush came to Framingham with a group of fellow doctors from England to learn from the heart study. They returned to England armed with new knowledge that helped their treatment of patients.
Over the last 75 years, the FHS has looked into strokes, dementia and Alzheimer’s, gut health, and even into the human genome.
It was incredibly moving how many in Nevins Hall on Monday were participants of the heart study. Each had a story about their grandparents or parents, and why their participation was more than going into an exam every few years. It is a deep mission, and a piece of their family’s legacy. It is about leaving the world a better, healthier place for future generations.
The Framingham Heart Study is one example of how Framingham has always been at the forefront of innovation. From the Framingham’s “Tuberculosis Study” in 1916, which was the first community based participatory health study in the world, to neurosurgery at Cushing Hospital during World War II, to the many life sciences companies working on new medicines and therapies within Framingham, Framingham’s legacy in medicine continues making a last impact on the global community.
Thank you, Framingham Heart Study.
Daniel’s Table is Moving
Big changes ahead: Daniel’s Table is building a new home. The local non-profit focused on fighting food insecurity in Framingham isn’t stopping operations while their new facility on Pearl Street is under construction.
Temporary home: Daniel’s Table will continue all of their services at 56 Park Street, a very short walk from the current location. This location opens on Monday, April 22.
What are they building?: The old RMV building that currently houses Daniel’s Table will be replaced by a 6 story mixed use building. Daniel’s Table will occupy the ground floor, along with two other related non-profit organizations. 40 residential units will make up the top 5 floors. 25% of the units will be affordable housing. Solar panels on the top of the building will provide electricity to the units and Daniel’s Table.
Community Events
Join Downtown Framingham, Inc., and Jack’s Abby for Marathon Fest! Cheer on the runners and then head down to Jack’s Abby for music, activities, and of course, beer!
The 12th annual Earth Day Festival hits the Framingham Centre Common on Saturday, April 20th, 2024, from 11 am to 3 pm.
Come on down and celebrate with live music, environmentally friendly businesses, artisans and non-profits, and fun activities for kids.
Other points of interest:
Check out the Electronics Recycling Event at First Parish. Let’s clean out the garage! The list of what you can bring and the cost is below.
Framingham Garden Club will be onsite with two exciting programs:
Adopt a Pollinator Pet Rock Program – To encourage children to understand the role of pollinators in gardening, including at-risk pollinators, we will have an educational “Adopt a Pollinator Pet Rock” program for children who are accompanied by an adult, while supplies last. To complement this program we will have native plant lists for adults who wish to learn more about the type of native plants that will attract these pollinators and a native seed giveaway to encourage attracting pollinators in gardening.
Community Giving Garden – Back by popular demand, the Community Giving Garden 2024 program will launch at Earth Day! This program enables Framingham residents to grow healthy vegetables and herbs at home and donate some of their harvest, by providing starter kits and educational materials throughout the growing season. In 2023, many families participated in this program, so we are happy to provide this program once again. We encourage families to pre-register on-line and pick up your starter kit at Earth Day, while supplies last.
Keep up with the event on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FraminghamEarthDay
I’ll be at the Friends of Framingham Trails tent - stop by and say hi!
What I’m Reading
Framingham man fired a gun several times, then struck K-9 while being arrested, police say
A historic home caught on fire in Framingham. Too many people lived there, officials say
For first time in 116 years, women admitted as Framingham's Columbus Club members
The Civic Week Ahead
Thursday, April 11
Friday, April 12
12:00pm: MWRTA Finance & Audit Committee Agenda
Tuesday, April 16
Thursday, April 18
In Closing…
A bit of a programming note: due to Patriots’ Day and April vacation, there will be no Ham’er next week. There are a number of topics I am currently working on for future issues. Next week will give me some breathing room to do more research and finish writing.
In the meantime, best of luck to Team Framingham and all who are running in the Boston Marathon on Monday! I’ll be somewhere along the route cheering you on!
I will be back in your inbox on Monday, April 22.
-Mary Kate