The Green Heart Louisville Project is a groundbreaking scientific study that is testing the hypothesis that introducing more green trees and shrubs into a neighborhood can directly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide.

“Receiving this award is a great honor not only for our investigators, but also our partners and communities,” said Aruni Bhatnagar, director of the at University of Louisville and project leader for Green Heart Louisville. “It validates years of work which has shown that thoughtfully planned greening can improve cardiovascular and community health, and it affirms that the Green Heart project is not only good science, but also a model for how to improve human health in urban environments. The recognition gives us new momentum to scale this work across Louisville and beyond.”

The Witte-Sakamoto Family Medal in City and Regional Planning was established in 2019 by William Witte, an alumnus of the Weitzman School, and his wife, Keiko Sakamoto to recognize a firm, team or professional for an exemplary plan that advances the field of plan making in at least four of the following areas: social equity, environmental quality, design, public health, mobility, housing affordability and economic development. The juries for the Witte-Sakamoto Family Medal and Prize were chaired by Megan Ryerson, UPS Foundation Chair of Transportation, chair of city and regional planning, and professor of city and regional planning and electrical and systems engineering at Weitzman.

“Green Heart Louisville exemplifies a holistic way of looking at public health – a marriage of design, planning and science to emulate,” said Fritz Steiner, dean and Paley Professor at Weitzman, and a member of the jury who selected Green Heart Louisville for the award.

Launched in 2018 by UofL’s Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute with support from The Nature Conservancy, the study investigates whether and how living among more densely greened surroundings contributes to better heart health. The Green Heart team applied the treatment – the addition of thousands of mature trees and shrubs – to the center of a four-square-mile area in south Louisville.

The first clinical outcomes from the study, , indicate that people living in neighborhoods where the number of trees and shrubs was more than doubled showed lower levels of a blood marker of inflammation than those living in the control area. General inflammation is an important risk indicator for heart disease and other chronic diseases.

The Green Heart Project’s work to establish a scientific link between nature – specifically urban greenery – and human health is already influencing projects worldwide. The first clinical outcomes announcement garnered widespread national media attention. Many research papers, posters and talks on the project have been delivered to both scientists and laypeople since the project’s inception, and robust research and outreach for the project continues.

The grants contribute to UofL’s strategic imperative to address health equity and serve as part of The Humana Foundation’s strategy to eliminate unjust and unnecessary barriers in health care.

“UofL continues to appreciate the support of The Humana Foundation in addressing health equity,” President Kim Schatzel said. “Their generous support will enable us to conduct the important work of engaging with communities of color to research the role of nutrition, food quality and diagnostic screening as they relate to heart health.”

“Every day, people face a multitude of choices that can affect their health and quality of life,” said Tiffany Benjamin, CEO of the Humana Foundation. “In too many communities, these choices are limited by factors beyond their control. That is why we are expanding healthy choices for communities and eliminating social and structural barriers, so that more people can reach their full health potential.”

Each of the three-year grants will fund regional nutrition programs. The larger of the two grants is $1,037,000 and will support the DISPARITY Trial (Dietary Intervention for primary and Secondary Prevention And Plaque Regression Investigated with Computed TomographY). The grant will support cardiac disease screening and nutrition-based interventions to address cardiac health disparities among older Black adults in Louisville.

The second grant of $154,000 is earmarked for the H.E.A.R.T. of Louisville Project: Helping Everyone Address Risk Today. The funding will support the identification of members of the Black community in Louisville at-risk for coronary disease and enrollment into long-term nutrition and lifestyle interventions.

“Food insecurity is a major problem that correlates with health care disparities,” said cardiologist Kim Allan Williams Sr., chair of the UofL department of medicine. “Nutrition education and food quality issues plague our African-American community, keeping heart disease as the leading killer of Americans. Our trials will help detect disease in those who are at risk and manage those already diagnosed using lifestyle changes, medication, enhanced access to cardiac care and advanced diagnostic imaging.”

The programs funded by both grants will include efforts to create healthy emotional connections, as a vital part of a holistic approach to care and shaping a healthier approach to nutrition to support lifelong health and wellbeing.

“Our mission is to transform the health of the communities we serve and the Heart Hospital delivers on that promise in life-changing ways,” said Tom Miller, CEO of UofL Health. “We have dedicated the space, assembled the technology and most importantly we have the academic expertise and commitment to make a difference in Kentucky’s biggest health threat.”

According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, heart disease remains Kentucky’s leading cause of death. The Heart Hospital is designed to change that statistic by saving lives and improving heart health. From the routine to the rare, and advancing research, the specially trained staff is dedicated to taking care of heart patients and their families.

“The UofL Health – Heart Hospital represents the future of heart care, in Kentucky and beyond,” said Lori Stewart Gonzalez, University of Louisville interim president. “This hospital combines comprehensive clinical care with academic expertise, training and breakthrough discoveries to advance heart care around the world.”

The Heart Hospital has more than 100 beds dedicated for heart patients. Rising 15-stories above downtown Louisville, with nearly 280,000 square feet, it provides leading-edge heart care on UofL Health’s academic medical campus. It includes six dedicated cardiac cath labs, two hybrid operating rooms, three electrophysiology labs and three cardiac operating rooms collectively equipped for TAVR, Watchmen Flex and heart transplant procedures. More than 300 heart care professionals make up the Heart Hospital team, with preventative and follow-up care extended to more than 30 locations across Kentucky and Indiana.

“Convenient access is essential to impactful care, that’s why the Heart Hospital extends care beyond downtown and into our community,” said , UofL Physicians – Cardiology Associates. “With early diagnosis, customized interventions and regular check-ups, our goal is to prevent the need for advanced care. But, if advance care is needed, the Heart Hospital means patients get the very best care, and still stay close to home.”

As part of UofL Health and through its alignment with both the University of Louisville School of Medicine and the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, the Heart Hospital leverages the advantage of academic medicine. Medical heart firsts attributed to the UofL Health team include three world’s first transplants and cardiac stem cell procedures, along with a first-in-the nation procedure to relieve the symptoms of heart failure to improve cardiac function and quality of life. The Heart Hospital team is also credited with dozens of state firsts and has celebrated more than .

“When you come to the Heart Hospital you get access to the heart care standards of the future, today,” said , chair of the UofL Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. “We leverage our academic advantage to save and improve more lives. I’m proud to be part of a team committed to research and developing innovative heart care.”

All UofL Health – Heart Hospital locations are now available to assist patients, downtown and at more than 30 locations across the community.