The Extended Spectrum of Apical Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Extended Spectrum of Apical Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
IRAS ID
227168
Contact name
Rebecca Hughes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2017/12/22, UCL Data Protection
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 3 days
Research summary
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common form of heart muscle disease caused by faults (mutations) in the DNA. It causes the heart muscle wall to thicken abnormally and sufferers are at risk of dying suddenly from dangerous heart rhythms. When thickening mostly affects the tip the heart, we call it Apical HCM (ApHCM). ApHCM is also linked with increased risk of death but this type of HCM is poorly understood. We have noticed that the hearts of highly-trained athletes sometimes show such abnormal thickening at the tip. When the thickness is borderline, we call it ‘relative' ApHCM. We think that relative ApHCM is not entirely innocent as other subtle heart abnormalities are also often present. By scanning the hearts of relative/ApHCM sufferers and athletes using MRI and exercise ultrasound, and studying molecules present in their blood and urine samples, we aim to discover new ways of testing for these conditions. We will also take a detailed look at the DNA of those with relative ApHCM to learn if we should be testing for specific DNA faults.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0188
Date of REC Opinion
22 Mar 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion