# Initiating Preventive Care for Hyperlipidemia in the Emergency Department: The EMERALD Trial

> **NIH HL K23** · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2026 · $156,087

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Hyperlipidemia (HLD) is a major contributor to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), the leading
cause of US mortality and morbidity. Nearly 30% of Emergency Department (ED) patients with chest pain have
undiagnosed and/or unmanaged HLD, putting them at an increased risk of ASCVD. Although safe and
effective HLD treatments exist, the ED traditionally focuses on acute care and does not offer preventive
cardiovascular care services or treatment for HLD. This represents a large, missed opportunity to improve
cardiovascular health for the millions of Americans evaluated in the ED each year for chest pain who are not
receiving appropriate guideline-directed preventive care in the outpatient setting. The overarching research
goals of this study are to determine the efficacy of a novel, protocolized, ED-based preventive care
intervention for HLD known as EMERALD (Emergency Medicine Cardiovascular Risk Assessment for Lipid
Disorders) in lowering cholesterol while also informing our understanding of patient adherence and
implementation determinants of ED-based preventive cardiovascular care. To accomplish these goals, I
worked with my mentoring team to design a career development plan that blends multidisciplinary research
training with an innovative research proposal. Aim 1 will use a randomized, controlled, single center, parallel
group trial of 130 ED patients to test the efficacy of EMERALD vs. usual care in lowering cholesterol. Aim 2 will
rely on mixed methods to identify patient adherence facilitators and barriers as well as implementation
determinants for Emergency Medicine providers. To successfully accomplish these Specific Aims, I will
capitalize on the outstanding research environment at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and my
engaged transdisciplinary mentorship team of senior scientists. With support from my mentoring team, I will
complete a robust career development program that will provide me with the necessary

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11323017
- **Project number:** 5K23HL169929-03
- **Recipient organization:** WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Nicklaus P Ashburn
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** HL
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $156,087
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2024-04-01T00:00:00 → 2029-03-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11323017

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11323017, Initiating Preventive Care for Hyperlipidemia in the Emergency Department: The EMERALD Trial (5K23HL169929-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-04 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11323017. Licensed CC0.

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