Cardiac echo in heart failure with a preserved LV ejection fraction
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Do echocardiographic parameters differ in patients with signs & symptoms of heart failure but a preserved LV ejection fraction when compared to patients without signs & symptoms of heart failure? A pilot study.
IRAS ID
142915
Contact name
Paul Marshall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Research summary
It is difficult to diagnose heart failure in a patient with a normal volume of blood pumped out of the heart during contraction (preserved left ventricular ejection fraction - LVEF). The diagnosis relies on a variety of echocardiographic (ultrasound heart scan) findings and clinical signs / symptoms. This pilot study will investigate whether several echocardiographic parameters are different in patients with clinical signs/symptoms of heart failure compared to patients without signs/symptoms of heart failure. This could help diagnose patients with more certainty in the future and lead to further research in this area.
The study has a prospective controlled clinical trial design. Patients with signs / symptoms of heart failure will be enrolled first and echocardiography performed according to the study protocol by Cardiac Physiologists who usually perform these scans. Any patients with a reduced LVEF or poor image quality will be excluded. Age and sex matched patients with no signs / symptoms of heart failure will then be enrolled and the same echocardiogram performed. Data will then be analysed by staff blinded to the research group and data compared.
Study participants will be patients who require echocardiography as part of their routine care however the study performed will be an enhanced echocardiogram with additional data collected. This will take approximately 5 mins extra to acquire compared to a standard scan. The initial treatment of the patients involved will not be affected by participation in this study however should the study prove a diagnosis of heart failure with a preserved LVEF after full data collection and statistical analysis, this information will be passed to the cardiologist responsible for the individual patient’s care.
There is no specific funding required for this study
REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/WM/0029
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jan 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion