Evaluation of mechanisms and innovations in biventricular pacing
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Invasive haemodynamic evaluation of mechanisms and quantification of scope for innovation in biventricular pacing
IRAS ID
123082
Contact name
Zachary Whinnett
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
Research summary
Currently biventricular pacemakers save lives and improve symptoms in patients with heart failure. However, the current way this treatment is delivered may not be fully treating the electrical conduction disturbance within the heart which it aims to reverse. Therefore there may be scope for making this treatment even more effective. The clinical studies in this application aim to establish precisely where current therapy is failing and how best to make improvements.
Patients with heart failure will be invited to participate in the study, which will be performed in the cardiac catheter laboratory. Those with evidence of impairment in the electrical activation of the left ventricle (the main pumping chamber of the heart) will receive temporary pacing from different sites within the left ventricular. This will allow us to establish whether adjusting the pacing site and/or the number of pacing sites improves activation time and pattern and as a result heart function. As part of this study they will wear a special vest which allows very detailed electrical activation maps to be obtained rapidly.
Patients who have normal electrical activation of the ventricles but impaired conduction between the atria (top chambers of the heart) and the ventricles will be investigated with temporary pacing from a special site which allows activation to occur via the natural conduction system of the ventricles. This will allow the timing between the atrial and ventricular contraction to be optimised, while maintaining the normal electrical activation of the ventricles.
These studies will inform us as to whether these interventions may be useful in improving the effectiveness of pacing therapy for heart failure patients.REC name
London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1440
Date of REC Opinion
4 Nov 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion