The SKArF Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Determination of the SK channel composition contributing to atrial action potential duration and of predictors of response to treatments in patients with or without atrial fibrillation
IRAS ID
211164
Contact name
Raimondo Ascione
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
For the heart to pump blood round the body effectively, the upper and lower heart chambers (atria and ventricles) must beat in a repeated orderly sequence giving rise to what is known as ‘heart rhythm’. Heart rhythm in turn depends on the correct spread of electrical activity through the heart. Disruptions to normal heart rhythm (‘arrhythmias’) impair blood circulation and can reduce life expectancy in the long term, as well as being an immediate cause of fainting, cardiac arrest and death.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia, estimated to effect over 1 million people in the UK, and is associated with reduced life expectancy. The incidence of AF increases with age, and as such the social and economic costs of this disease can be expected to increase with our ageing population. The majority of AF patients (around 70 %) have some form of structural heart disease.
This study aims to build on research in mice that has found specific proteins involved in the electrical activity of heart muscle. We want to establish whether these proteins are also found in human heart atria, both in patients with normal heart rhythm and those with AF. We will investigate the actions of two drugs on human atrial heart cells to see if this protein could be a potential new antiarrhythmic drug target. We will also look at patients who undergo surgical AF treatment to see if we can identify factors that predict how well they will respond to surgery.
This study will recruit adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. We will not make any alterations to the surgical procedures of these patients. The study will simply involve the use of tissue taken from patients undergoing elective surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary that would otherwise be discarded at the end of their procedure.REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
16/WS/0172
Date of REC Opinion
7 Sep 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion