PCORnet® Resources Help Answer Key Challenges in Cardiovascular Research

PCORnet® is intended to improve the nation’s capacity to efficiently conduct patient-centered health research, particularly comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER), by providing a large, highly representative network of health data, research expertise, and patient insights. PCORnet has been developed with funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®).

September 2025

Download Cardiovascular Research Summary

Cardiovascular (CV) researchers are faced with numerous challenges:

  • Fragmentation in healthcare organizations
  • Limited data access to selected small patient populations
  • Lack of standardized, research-ready data

The result?

  • Mismatch between controlled trials and real-world settings
  • Heterogeneity in treatment responses
  • Missed opportunities to improve patients’ lives
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THE PCORnet® INFRASTRUCTURE IS HELPING RESEARCHERS SOLVE THESE CHALLENGES

ADAPTABLE

The ADAPTABLE study team wanted to understand which aspirin dose offered the right balance of effectiveness and minimal risk of bleeding.

Using PCORnet, the ADAPTABLE team:

  • Enrolled more than 15,000 patients living with heart disease from 40 sites in 38 months
  • Built a pragmatic study model with Patient Partners engaged at every stage of the study

Patient-Centered Results:

Funder: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®)

PREVENTABLE

The PREVENTABLE study team is exploring whether a statin can help prevent dementia and CV-related deaths in adults aged 75+ without increasing risks of adverse health outcomes.

Using PCORnet, the PREVENTABLE team:

  • Aims to enroll up to 20,000 adults age 75+ with no history of CV, disability, or dementia
  • Is capturing three complementary sources of data (Medicare, EHRs, and surveys)

Patient-Centered Results:

Funder: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

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Blood Pressure Control Laboratory

The Blood Pressure (BP) Control Laboratory study team wanted to understand how well clinics and patients are controlling BP and if new technologies could improve this aim.

Using PCORnet, the BP Control Laboratory team:

  • Developed a reusable platform to track BP control metrics and conduct patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research
  • Established connections across major health systems and directly engaged patients
  • Leveraged the PCORnet® Common Data Model to standardize electronic health record codes

Patient-Centered Results:

Funder: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®)

“The robust infrastructure of PCORnet, and particularly the PCORnet® Common Data Model that unites millions of disparate data points so they are usable and meaningful for research, gave us a significant head start in our search for answers.”

Mark Pletcher, Co-principal Investigator for BP Control Laboratory

The Congenital Heart Initiative: Redefining Outcomes and Navigation to Adult-Centered Care (CHI-RON)

The CHI-RON study team wants to understand if receiving recommended care improves health outcomes for adults with congenital heart defects.

Using PCORnet, the CHI-RON team:

  • Established a system to study different ways to reduce gaps in care for people with Adult Congenital Heart Disease (AHCD)
  • Leverages the PCORnet® Common Data Model to link data from electronic health records, patient surveys, and claims

Patient-Centered Results:

  • Patient Partners helped design the study and recruitment materials
  • Partnership with the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA) provides participants with a community and resources about CHD
  • Published a paper in Current Cardiology Reports about patient engagement in research

Funder: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute® (PCORI®)

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POWER YOUR NEXT CV STUDY WITH PCORnet®

PCORnet resources are available to researchers, patient groups, industry, and agencies from all funding sources and affiliations. PCORI also offers funding for broad pragmatic studies using PCORnet.

 

Are you ready to find out how PCORnet can support your next research effort? Contact the PCORnet® Front Door to start the conversation. 

PCORnet is a national resource, funded by PCORI, that enables insights from high-quality health data, patient partnership, and research expertise to deliver fast, trustworthy answers that advance health outcomes. The network supports both observational and interventional research.