Atrial Morphology and Ethnicity
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Morphological differences between the South Asian and Caucasian Atrium
IRAS ID
209022
Contact name
Muzahir Tayebjee
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 31 days
Research summary
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the commonest sustained cardiac arrhythmia and is strongly associated with conditions such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease and heart failure. The South Asian ethnic group have particularly high rates of these conditions and so would be expected to be at significant risk of AF. However, observational studies have consistently shown that South Asians (SAs) have a lower prevalence of AF compared with Caucasians although the reason for this remains unclear.
Previous studies have demonstrated a clear link between increasing atrial size and an increased risk of AF. There is also echocardiographic evidence that SAs have smaller left atrial diameters and volumes compared to other ethnic groups. However, there are no trials that have used cardiac MRI, the current gold-standard imaging modality for atrial dimensions, to assess for ethnic variations in atrial morphology.
We hypothesise that, compared with Caucasian controls, SA atria have important morphological variations which provide protection against the development of AF. We aim to investigate this by performing detailed imaging of the atria in any individual of SA origin, without a background of AF, who attends LTHT for a cardiac MRI and compare these results with age-matched Caucasian controls. Any variations that are found between the two ethnic groups would be expected to provide more insight into the structural changes within the atria which predispose to AF.
REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EM/0340
Date of REC Opinion
6 Sep 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion