GEMINI-M
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Gestational Evaluation of Maternal Cardiac Investigations in Twin Pregnancies
IRAS ID
350379
Contact name
Andrew Sharp
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
GEMINI-M is a study looking at maternal cardiovascular health adaptations in women with twin pregnancies. It has been established in research that pregnancy related complications such as pre-eclampsia increase a woman’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life. We also know that having a twin pregnancy poses an increased load on the maternal cardiovascular system and leads to more pronounced cardiovascular changes in pregnancy. We want to know what these are and do they persist postnatally, to help us better understand who is at risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.
We aim to recruit 75 women over 12 months with twin pregnancies in the 1st trimester and follow them through to 6 months postnatal at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
We aim to undertake cardiovascular assessments at 4 different timepoints: 2 antenatal timepoints, 1 at delivery and 1 timepoint 6 months postnatally. At each visit the following cardiovascular assessments will be undertaken.
1. USCOM - non-invasive measurement of cardiac output, stroke volume and systemic vascular resistance.
2. Vicorder assessment - non- invasive assessment of pulse way velocity, augmentations index and central bloods pressure.
3. Standard clinical measurements - 12 lead ECG, blood pressure, weight and BMI
4. Blood samples for biomarker analysis at timepoint 1,2 and 4 with maximum 20ml at each point.
At the end of this study we will analyse our data. We hope this will increase our understanding of who if at risk of developing cardiovascular disease so we can identify these women and implement preventative measures early on to increase healthy life years.REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/EM/0072
Date of REC Opinion
3 Apr 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion