Anxiety in paediatric inherited cardiac arrhythmia clinics.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Anxiety in children attending a specialist inherited cardiac arrhythmia clinic.
IRAS ID
164198
Contact name
Jennifer English
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Holloway University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 31 days
Research summary
Sudden Cardiac Death affects approximately 500 people per annum in England. Cardiac channelopathies/arrhythmia syndromes are a group of inherited conditions that affect the electrical functioning of the heart and are the main cause of SCD. Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is the most common.
Children present to specialist cardiac arrhythmia clinics if they experience symptoms that may represent an underlying arrhythmia syndrome (such as palpitations, syncope or cardiac arrest), if a family member has been diagnosed with an arrhythmia syndrome or if a family member has died unexpectedly at a young age (<40 years old).
When a condition is diagnosed preventive measures such as medication (e.g. beta blockers), devices (implantable cardioverter defibrillators), and lifestyle modifications (e.g. restricting intense exercise) can be implemented to reduce the risk of SCD.Conditions can develop over time, therefore ongoing monitoring is required for those with a family history of arrhythmia.
Research has examined the level of anxiety of adults and parents of children attending specialist cardiac arrhythmia clinics. However little research has examined the effect on the children themselves. The study aims to explore the level of anxiety in children attending a specialist cardiac arrhythmia clinic and compare this to a control group from local schools.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/0076
Date of REC Opinion
15 Apr 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion