Ablation of Ganglionated Plexi in Neurocardiogenic Syncope
Research type
Research Study
Full title
SYNCOPE ABLATION Study - Ablation of Ganglionated Plexi for the treatment of Neurocardiogenic Syncope
IRAS ID
173005
Contact name
Phang Boon Lim
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Neurocardiogenic syncope, known as fainting, leads to loss of consciousness through low blood pressure and a slow heart rate. Often repeated fainting can be treated simply by eating more salt, drinking more fluid, taking medication, or doing special exercises. Researchers have put in pacemakers, consisting of a wire in the heart and a small metal box under the chest to try and keep the heart from beating slowly and stop patients fainting. This is a difficult decision as the pacemaker and the wires might need to be replaced several times as time goes on, and it is unclear whether pacemakers can help avoid fainting. Some patients keep having faints despite treatment, severely interfering with their life, often hurting themselves due to falls and accidents. Researchers have found a way of modifying the heart’s nervous system, and potentially help these patients. This new method has been tested in small patient groups in Brazil and China and shows promising results.
We will randomly allocate eligible patients to a group who will have the treatment and a group will have a sham procedure. None of the team looking after patients following the procedure will know which group patients are allocated to.
We will put patients to sleep and place plastic tubes with electrodes into their hearts. We will use radiofrequency energy to heat certain parts areas in the heart to destroy some of the cells we believe are responsible for fainting.
If our study shows that the treatment is successful, our patients might stop medication, might not need a pacemaker and have a better quality of life, and we might be able to perform the procedure for more patients. Our research will also help us better understand why and how fainting happens.REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0499
Date of REC Opinion
6 Sep 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion