KEY TAKEAWAYS: Ochsner pediatric cardiologist Dr. Craig Sable was named a principal investigator in a $15 million AHA initiative. The SHIELD Center received $4.4 million to advance rheumatic heart disease detection and treatment. Researchers are using AI and echocardiography screening to impro ve early diagnosis and care access. The global collaboration includes partners in Uganda, Brazil, Timor-Leste and Australia.   Ochsner Health announced that one of its pediatric cardiologists has been selected as a principal investigator in a new $15 million American Heart Association research initiative focused on improving the early detection and treatment of heart valve disease. Dr. Craig Sable of Ochsner Children’s will help lead research efforts through the Strategic Hub for Interventions to Promote Early Detection and Lifelong Protection from Advanced Rheumatic Heart Disease, known as SHIELD. The center is one of three research hubs funded through the American Heart Association’s Strategically Focused Research Network on Earlier Detection and Delaying Progression of Valvular Heart Disease. The SHIELD Center received $4.4 million over four years and is being led by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in collaboration with Ochsner and international partners in Uganda, Brazil, Timor-Leste and Australia. The initiative aims to address rheumatic heart disease, a preventable condition that remains a major cause of heart valve complications among children and young adults globally. According to the American Heart Association, more than 80 million people worldwide are affected by valvular heart disease. Researchers involved in SHIELD are using artificial intelligence and expanded echocardiography screening to improve early detection of rheumatic heart disease. The project also incorporates digital patient registries and community-based healthcare interventions intended to improve long-term disease management and access to care. Sable, who has collaborated for nearly two decades with Cincinnati Children’s cardiologist Dr. Andrea Beaton, will serve as principal investigator for one of the center’s three research projects. “As a lifelong advocate for children’s heart health, I am deeply honored to help lead this initiative with our exceptional teams around the world,” Sable said. “Together, we are not only advancing science. We are building stronger systems of care, empowering communities, and giving hope to families everywhere affected by rheumatic heart disease.” The broader American Heart Association network also includes the VALVE-iPROTECT Center at Mass General Brigham Heart and Vascular Institute in Boston, which is researching calcific aortic stenosis, and a separate valve disease prediction and intervention center at the University of Pittsburgh. “Heart valve disease continues to rise in prevalence, often progressing without early warning signs,” said Stacey E. Rosen, volunteer president of the American Heart Association. “By the time symptoms appear, damage may already be done — making early detection and treatment essential.” The American Heart Association said the new network builds on nearly $300 million previously invested in strategically focused research programs targeting cardiovascular disease and other major health challenges. Ochsner Health, headquartered in New Orleans, operates 47 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centers across Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South. The nonprofit healthcare system said it cared for more than 1.6 million people in 2025 through a workforce of approximately 40,000 employees and 5,000 physicians. ...read more read less