CMR pulmonary flow haemodynamic biomarkers

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Advanced pulmonary flow haemodynamic biomarkers in pulmonary hypertension

• IRAS ID

  352177

• Contact name

  Pankaj Garg

• Contact email

  P.Garg@uea.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of East Anglia

• Duration of Study in the UK

  3 years, 0 months, 0 days

• Research summary

  Why?
  Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive condition that places strain on the heart and lungs due to elevated pressures in the pulmonary arteries. It can be difficult to diagnose and monitor, often requiring invasive tests such as right heart catheterisation. Current imaging and exercise tests do not fully capture the complexity of PH or reliably predict how a patient will feel or function. This study aims to develop and validate non-invasive imaging methods to improve diagnosis, risk assessment, and treatment planning in PH.

  What?
  This research will investigate how abnormal blood flow in the pulmonary arteries contributes to energy loss and impaired exercise capacity. It will use advanced four-dimensional (4D) flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to assess turbulence and viscous energy loss (VEL). The project will also evaluate whether simpler two-dimensional (2D) imaging techniques can detect similar abnormalities more efficiently.

  The key aims are to:

  1) Understand how altered blood flow affects exercise performance, using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPEX)
  2) Determine whether flow inefficiencies (e.g. high VEL) are associated with poorer clinical outcomes
  3) Develop simplified imaging tools that could be implemented more widely in future clinical practice

  Who?
  The study will involve 100 participants: 25 healthy volunteers, 50 patients with suspected PH, and 25 with confirmed PH. This allows comparisons between different levels of disease severity and functional limitation.

  Where?
  Research will take place at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the University of East Anglia.

  How?
  All participants will have had prior CMR imaging as part of clinical care. A supervised CPEX will be conducted for healthy volunteers and patients with suspected PH. For confirmed PH participants, both imaging and exercise data previously acquired during routine clinical care will be used for research purposes, following informed consent. With informed consent, these datasets will be analysed to assess the role of blood flow metrics in PH and their potential use in risk prediction models and future research.

• REC name

  West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  25/WM/0190

• Date of REC Opinion

  22 Oct 2025

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion