Coronary flow during rapid heart rates
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Coronary epicardial and microcirculatory determinants of ventricular tachycardia tolerability
IRAS ID
319116
Contact name
Ricardo Petraco
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 2 days
Research summary
Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a common and life-threatening arrhythmia that occurs in people with heart problems. Same patients who develop this arrhythmia remain very stable with very little symptoms while others become unstable with low blood pressure or even sudden death. It is not known why some people tolerate the arrhythmia well and others do not.
If VT is not tolerated then current practice is to offer an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) which can deliver a shock to the heart if dangerous heart rhythms are detected. While shocks can be life-saving, they are also harmful, including causing psychological distress. ICDs also frequently deliver shocks when they are not needed. If we could identify which factors predispose a person to be stable or unstable in VT, this would allow doctors to help them in a range of ways. One way would be to treat them to improve their tolerance of VT, so avoiding the need for an ICD. Another would be to assess the their risk of instability and so allow a patient-centred decision on whether an ICD is needed.
In this study we plan to recruit patients who are referred to have a coronary angiogram. During their angiogram we will stimulate the heart at a range of fast heart rates and measure their blood pressure and flow in their coronary arteries. In patients who undergo stenting for a coronary stenosis, we will also make these measurements after stenting so we can can see if there is any difference. By recruiting a range of different cardiology patients we will be able to assess which factors contribute to stability during VT. In order to assess coronary flow during clinical VT we will also recruit patients having an ablation procedure for VT.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0162
Date of REC Opinion
25 Apr 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion