LOVE study Version 3.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
London Valvular Heart Disease and Reduced Ejection Fraction Detection in a multi-ethnic community using Cardiac Ultrasound
IRAS ID
292737
Contact name
Guy Lloyd
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen Mary University of London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
10933, Clinical Effectiveness Unit Approval, Barts Heart Centre; NCT05208567, Clinical Trials
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Heart Valve Disease and Heart failure contribute to 25% of hospital emergency admissions while heart failure alone has become one of the most common causes for hospitalisation in people over the age of 65. The burden of disease is likely to be high in our multi-ethnic community but there is a paucity of data. Management of heart valve disease requires appropriate surveillance and timely surgery. Similarly heart failure management requires treatment with medications aimed at slowing progression of symptoms and preventing premature death. The NHS long term plan priorities early detection and treatment of valve disease and heart failure in order to reduce the burden on emergency services and improve the health of the population.
Diagnosis is made using cardiac ultrasound, however staff with the required skills-set are critically limited in the community.
We will train non-expert staff within primary care to perform abbreviated cardiac ultrasound to detect heart valve disease or heart failure. This will be opportunistic scanning using patients over the age of 65yrs old (target population) already attending the GP practice for flu clinics or Covid-19 vaccinations in order to reduce healthcare footfall at the time of Covid-19.
This will form a pilot study where we aim to scan 500 patients over 6 months.
All scans will be reviewed by an expert. Anonymised data will later be used to develop machine learning tools to begin working with our academic partners to develop tools that can improve the reliability of diagnosis from ultrasound.
REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/WM/0095
Date of REC Opinion
6 Jun 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion