Cardiac-Placenta imaging in pregnancy (CARP) v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Cardiac-Placental imaging in pregnancy (CARP): Understanding intertwined processes between the maternal heart and the placenta during pregnancy
IRAS ID
262035
Contact name
Mary Rutherford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
This study aims to provide novel knowledge on pre-eclampsia (PE). PE is a pregnancy complication, affects about 1 in 25 pregnancies, and is characterised by high blood pressure and proteinurea. It can cause severe problems for the mother such as fits, bleeding, heart problems later in life, and even death. The baby can be affected by a poorly functioning placenta, which leads to inadequate nutrition and thus to low birthweight with associated risks or even death. Furthermore, PE gives rise to a high risk of cardio-vascular disease (CVD) later in the life of the women.
However, both predicting the onset of PE and the risk in later life are currently major challenges. Better and earlier identification of these risks will help reduce the burden for both mothers and children during and after pregnancy.
We aim to define strategies of effective surveillance and therapy planning and thus reduce the impact of this condition by a better understanding of the health of the mother’s heart and placenta, and how they affect each other. Current studies focus on the placenta, despite the clear involvement of the cardio-vascular system. We aim to use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to safely study both placenta and cardio-vascular system during pregnancy.
We will recruit both healthy pregnant women as controls, women at high-risk for PE (most notably due to chronic hypertension) and women with diagnosed PE.The EPSRA-Wellcome funded Centre for Medical Engineering (CME) at King's College funds this research and it will be carried out over a period of 18 months at St. Thomas' Hospital in London on clinical MRI scanners. Participants will be invited for up to three MRI scans during pregnancy, on the same day blood will be taken and fetal ECG recordings obtained. Their placenta will be analysis after delivery and outcome information obtained.
REC name
London - Dulwich Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/0852
Date of REC Opinion
24 Jul 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion