Cardiovascular & Critical Care
New Ultrasound Assessment Technique for Patients with Valvular Heart Disease
This vital research will support the development of a new assessment technique that can detect left heart dysfunction before patients undergo transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER).
Research Objectives
Status
Recruitment
Patient Group
Study location
Study type
Lead investigator
- Dr Christopher Raffel
Experienced investigator
- Professor John Fraser AO
Technical title
Incorporating Load into Cardiac Assessment by Echocardiography in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair
About this research project
Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most common valvular heart disease with over 400,000 patients in Australia. Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER), or mitral valve repair by catheter, is a promising treatment for MR. However, approximately 40% of patients receiving this treatment still develop heart failure. The main cause of this is undetected left heart dysfunction (LHD) which is not identifiable through current heart assessments. Once TEER repairs MR, the underlying LHD becomes conspicuous, which causes heart failure.
In this project, the research team aims to develop a new assessment technique using ultrasound, which can detect LHD before TEER. This new ultrasound assessment will provide adequate treatment to prevent post-TEER heart failure, allowing many patients to enjoy an enhanced quality of life and extended lifespan.
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