Effect of Remote Ischaemic Conditioning on clinical outcomes in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (ERIC-PPCI): A multi-centre randomised controlled clinical study
Currently, the best way to reduce damage after a heart attack and improve chances of survival is to restore blood flow to the heart muscle using a treatment called primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). But this process is not risk free as restoring blood to the heart quickly can unexpectedly also damage heart muscle in a process called reperfusion injury. So we urgently need new ways to optimise PPCI. Remote ischaemic conditioning is a treatment where blood flow to a limb is repeatedly restricted and restored again using a blood pressure cuff on the upper arm. Researchers have found that in some smaller studies, this simple and cheap treatment can reduce the damage to the heart muscle in patients who have had a heart attack and are receiving PPCI. But we don’t yet know if this treatment can improve important clinical outcomes for PPCI patients in the longer term. Dr Derek Hausenloy and colleagues at University College London have received a BHF grant to carry out a clinical trial called the ERIC-PPI study. They will study 2000 people who have had a heart attack from 30 UK hospitals. They investigate if ‘conditioning’ the heart using the blood pressure cuff method reduces the damage caused to the heart muscle in a heart attack, and if it improves survival and prevents heart failure developing. They will combine their results with another trial taking place in Denmark to make it even more powerful, so 4000 patients will be studied in all. If successful, this research could reveal a simple way to help prevent heart failure and improve the chances of survival after a heart attack, and may lead to a change in clinical practice. It may reduce the number of hospital admissions for heart failure in the longer term.
Project details
| Grant amount | £1,549,358 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Clinical Studies |
| Application type | Clinical Study |
| Start Date | 01 April 2015 |
| Duration | 5 years, 6 months |
| Reference | CS/14/3/31002 |
| Status | In Progress |
