About
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The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC), sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a prospective epidemiologic study conducted in four U.S. communities. ARIC is designed to investigate the causes of disease and its outcomes. To date, the ARIC study has published over 2,000 articles in peer-reviewed journals.
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MESSAGE FROM THE ARIC STEERING COMMITTEE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
I am continually impressed with the dedication of ARIC participants, staff and investigators and the amazing discoveries they enabled. ARIC staff continues to honor the participants as special volunteers whose participation for over 38 years is creating a legacy of scientific accomplishments and a resource to improve the health of generations to come. I am proud that our facility at 1100 Dual Highway looks even better than on its opening day. We started ARIC Visit 12 in Fall 2025 and continue the ACHIEVE study. The NIH has recognized the outstanding achievements of the ARIC study and incredible contributions of the participants by funding annual visits for ARIC and its neurocognitive study continuing through 2026. Each visit features new research components and uncovers important information about how we age.
Josef Coresh, MD, PhD
ARIC Steering Committee Principal Investigator and Former Comstock Center Director
I am continually impressed with the dedication of ARIC participants, staff and investigators and the amazing discoveries they enabled. ARIC staff continues to honor the participants as special volunteers whose participation for over 38 years is creating a legacy of scientific accomplishments and a resource to improve the health of generations to come. I am proud that our facility at 1100 Dual Highway looks even better than on its opening day. We started ARIC Visit 12 in Fall 2025 and continue the ACHIEVE study. The NIH has recognized the outstanding achievements of the ARIC study and incredible contributions of the participants by funding annual visits for ARIC and its neurocognitive study continuing through 2026. Each visit features new research components and uncovers important information about how we age.
Josef Coresh, MD, PhD
ARIC Steering Committee Principal Investigator and Former Comstock Center Director
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MESSAGE FROM THE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR:
Since its beginning in November 1986, the ARIC study has been all about connections. The connection between health behaviors and heart disease. The connection between aging and memory. The connection between residents and their communities. And the connection between participants and the ARIC study and staff.
As a Washington County native, 34+ year ARIC staff member, and the daughter of an ARIC participant, I understand and value the importance of these connections. For ARIC participants, the connection to our community and to each other is strong. For some ARIC participants, the desire to improve the health of our community was the reason they originally enrolled in ARIC. For others, the thought of providing a legacy of health information for future generations was such an important concept that they have been willing to continue to give of their time and effort for over 38 years.
The ARIC study has an ongoing connection with each and every one of our participants - we don’t take this connection lightly. We know that it requires a continued and concentrated effort to participate in a long-term study. But we also understand the vital role that every individual participant fills in this study. An ARIC participant, once enrolled, can never be replaced.
As we move forward in our eleventh ARIC visit, I am excited to continue our connection with the ARIC participants. The ARIC Visit 11 is collecting information on many aspects of participant health that we have previously covered, as well as adding additional procedures. We will also continue to connect with participants twice a year by phone for their follow-up questions. We hope that participants will enjoy the continuation of these calls and visits as much as our staff enjoys seeing and talking with them.
We can never thank the ARIC participants enough for their commitment to the ARIC study. Their legacy of participation will live on in the articles and journals written with their data, always connecting them with the overall ARIC goal – research with heart.
Melissa Toms Minotti, MPH, RPSGT
Comstock Center Operations Director
MESSAGE FROM THE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR:
Since its beginning in November 1986, the ARIC study has been all about connections. The connection between health behaviors and heart disease. The connection between aging and memory. The connection between residents and their communities. And the connection between participants and the ARIC study and staff.
As a Washington County native, 34+ year ARIC staff member, and the daughter of an ARIC participant, I understand and value the importance of these connections. For ARIC participants, the connection to our community and to each other is strong. For some ARIC participants, the desire to improve the health of our community was the reason they originally enrolled in ARIC. For others, the thought of providing a legacy of health information for future generations was such an important concept that they have been willing to continue to give of their time and effort for over 38 years.
The ARIC study has an ongoing connection with each and every one of our participants - we don’t take this connection lightly. We know that it requires a continued and concentrated effort to participate in a long-term study. But we also understand the vital role that every individual participant fills in this study. An ARIC participant, once enrolled, can never be replaced.
As we move forward in our eleventh ARIC visit, I am excited to continue our connection with the ARIC participants. The ARIC Visit 11 is collecting information on many aspects of participant health that we have previously covered, as well as adding additional procedures. We will also continue to connect with participants twice a year by phone for their follow-up questions. We hope that participants will enjoy the continuation of these calls and visits as much as our staff enjoys seeing and talking with them.
We can never thank the ARIC participants enough for their commitment to the ARIC study. Their legacy of participation will live on in the articles and journals written with their data, always connecting them with the overall ARIC goal – research with heart.
Melissa Toms Minotti, MPH, RPSGT
Comstock Center Operations Director
