P-VECT Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Peri-Vascular adipose tissue inflammation Evaluated using coronary CT angiography
IRAS ID
258745
Contact name
D Adlam
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The P-VECT study will determine the effectiveness of a new measurement technique looking at the inflammation in the coronary arteries supplying blood to the heart. Coronary CT angiograms (CCTA’s) are routine scans used to check for narrowing in the coronary arteries, which can lead to heart attacks. The new measurement uses the same scans to look outside the coronary arteries, at the surrounding fat tissue – it is called the Fat Attenuation Index (FAI). The fat is altered by the presence of inflammation in the arteries, and this can be picked up by the FAI method. Inflammation in the coronary arteries is thought to be a prime cause of sudden heart attack, even when there are no significant narrowings.
P-VECT will involve scans of 200 patients with inflammation in their arteries, following them for 8 months while they either undergo routine treatment with statins and aspirin (which are known to reduce coronary artery inflammation), or will not receive treatment. The patients will be recruited from hospitals in Oxford, Leicester and London. By looking at the differences in FAI over time in these 2 groups, the researchers will gain valuable data on how sensitive this new measurement is to changes in coronary artery inflammation. The data will help design of further trials to assess the clinical effectiveness of FAI.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EM/0315
Date of REC Opinion
18 Nov 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion