Irving H. Zucker, Ph.D.
Heart failure

Dr. Zucker's research is concerned with the interaction between the nervous system and the cardiovascular system in an effort to understand the basic mechanisms by which nerves control blood pressure, heart rate and blood flow to the tissues. Changes in the nervous control of the cardiovascular system are apparent in various stages of disease such as hypertension and heart failure.

The work involves studying, in a systematic way, the components of various reflexes which prevent blood pressure and heart rate from fluctuating abnormally. The information accrued from this work will help define the mechanisms by which patients with heart failure and hypertension suffer multiple organ damage, and will lead to better ways of managing the consequences of these diseases.

Dr. Zucker has been professor and chairman of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at UNMC since 1989. He has been director of the UNMC Cardiovascular Research Center since 1997. He earned his BS in biology from The City College of New York, his MS in biology from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and his PhD physiology from New York Medical College.