Improving the identification of faulty heart valves

Improving the identification of faulty valves

Blood travels through our hearts in a one-way system. Strong, flexible, one-way valves within the heart make sure blood keeps flowing in the correct direction. However, valves can become inflamed and stiff with age and disease, which puts an extra burden on the heart. There are currently several effective treatments for people with damaged heart valves but choosing the best treatment relies on doctors being able to accurately assess the damage. Currently, the best way to detect if someone needs treatment for faulty heart valves is to insert sensors into blood vessels near their heart. This is done by pushing a catheter through the circulation towards the heart via a blood vessel in a limb. This gives cardiologists a very accurate measure of the burden on the heart, but the invasive procedure carries health risks. Now Dr Lamata and his team wishes to combine cutting-edge techniques to develop a brand new accurate and safe way to test for valve problems. Using advances in biomedical engineering made at King’s College London, they will combine sophisticated MRI imaging with computer techniques to understand the physics of blood flow. They will test their new approach on 100 patients, who will also have traditional procedures to assess their heart valves, to see how the results of their new technology compare. It is hoped that this new technique could provide a safer way to accurately detect valve disease, and could help provide the best treatment for each patient.