Taking part in a clinical trial

What is a clinical trial?

Scientists carry out research studies called clinical trials to find out if a new treatment, such as a drug, is effective and safe. A clinical trial involves testing that treatment on a group of people. Sometimes, clinical trials compare different treatments to see if a new treatment is better than one that is currently used.

Although we fund many clinical trials that are testing the effectiveness of new treatments to fight heart and circulatory disease, we don’t recruit people to take part in them.

How do I get involved in a clinical trial?

Recruitment for clinical trials is most often organised by the doctors and researchers who leads the trial. However, there are ways you can find out about ongoing clinical trials. Your first step should always be to speak to your doctor or specialist medical team and ask their advice.

Where can I get information about specific clinical trials?

You can find out more about clinical trials in the UK by visiting the UK Clinical Trials Gateway. Run by the National Institute for Health Research - the research arm of the NHS - the Gateway provides easy to understand information about clinical trials that are going on at the moment.

The UK Clinical Research Network also has a useful database of ongoing clinical research trials throughout the UK, categorised by the type of disease they’re looking to test their treatment on.

If you find a trial you’re interested in, speak to your GP or specialist medical team about the research, whether it’s appropriate for your case and whether it would be possible to get a referral to the trial team.