Fractional flow reserve in serial and diffuse coronary artery disease (Dr Bhavik Modi)
Supervised by Dr Divaka Perera, a Clinical Research Training Fellow is developing new techniques that help doctors decide whether to operate on complicated narrowed coronary arteries. Angina is a pain or discomfort felt in the chest, and is usually caused by coronary heart disease - when heart muscle arteries narrow and restrict blood supply to the heart. People often have multiple narrowed areas in diseased heart arteries. When narrowing is severe, doctors carry out a procedure to re-open the artery called coronary angioplasty, or do bypass surgery, which relieves angina and improves life expectancy. But deciding whether to operate is tricky – doctors make a decision based on the appearance of the artery and using a measurement called fractional flow reserve, or FFR. FFR can accurately determine how narrowing affects blood flow, and using it leads to better outcomes. But it is rarely used in people with multiple narrowings and has some other limitations. This project will develop and assess two new techniques which allow FFR assessment in people with complicated multiple narrowings in their coronary arteries. One of these techniques may reduce the invasiveness of the process required to make a decision. This research could pave the way for a clinical trial to assess this technique and find out if it could help doctors make treatment decisions that improve outcomes for their patients.
Project details
| Grant amount | £229,563 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Fellowships |
| Application type | Clinical Research Training Fellowship |
| Start Date | 11 November 2015 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | FS/15/78/31678 |
| Status | In Progress |
