Investigation of the mechanisms promoting heart attacks -Pilot Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigation of the mechanisms promoting heart attacks
IRAS ID
344519
Contact name
Azfar Zaman
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
Heart attacks are caused when the blood supply to the heart is insufficient to allow the heart to keep on working normally, most commonly resulting from a blood clot that builds up in one of the coronary arteries that supplies the heart muscle with blood. Blood clots normally occur overlying fatty deposits in the artery wall (atherosclerotic plaques), because they burst open (rupture), or lose the protective lining of cells that covers them, termed plaque erosion.
Interventional cardiologists treat patients with atherosclerotic plaques when they cause a restriction to blood flow to the heart muscle and symptoms like angina. They also treat patients having a heart attack in the same way to re-open blocked coronary arteries. To do this, they insert a guide catheter from the wrist or groin to the heart and then pass a guide wire through the guide catheter, past the atherosclerotic plaque along which they thread other instruments. These can include small imaging ‘cameras’, balloon catheters or aspiration catheters, which are used to image and treat the blockages in the coronary arteries. During this process, some of the cells that line the coronary arteries become stuck to the instruments that are used, which are normally discarded at the end of the procedure.
We will recover the small number of cells that become attached to the instruments used, so we can study the cells that line the artery and better understand the processes that cause heart attacks, particularly those precipitated through plaque erosion. We will also investigate the cells and cell-derived signatures in the blood that relate to vascular health. Lastly, if used in routine care, we will analyse any vessel imaging acquired to match the results with the stage of disease in the artery wall.REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0537
Date of REC Opinion
7 Oct 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion