Science
Our research highlights of 2023
It has been a phenomenal year in the world of our research. From lifesaving dementia treatment to using fruit flies to better understand how the heart is formed, each discovery we fund helps take us a step closer to beating heartbreak forever. Here we take a look back at some of our research breakthroughs of 2023.
January: 500,000 missed out on medication during the pandemic
2023 kicked off with the news that nearly half a million people missed out on starting blood pressure medications during the Covid-19 pandemic. Researchers at the BHF Data Science Centre at Health Data Research UK suggested that thousands of people could suffer avoidable heart attacks and strokes as a result of delays in starting treatment.The findings brought into focus an important opportunity for the NHS to identify and treat people who should have started taking medicines to reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke, and the need to get heart care back on track.
February: Hope for treating lacunar strokes
February brought new hope for treating a type of stroke called a lacunar stroke. Lacunar strokes affect 25,000 people every year in the UK and are thought to be caused by cerebral small vessel disease. This type of stroke can affect patients’ movement, memory and thinking ability. It is linked to nearly half of all dementia cases and there are currently no treatments available.Research presented at the American Heart Association International Stroke Conference found that two cheap and common drugs currently used to treat heart and circulatory diseases – isosorbide mononitrate and cilostazol – can safely and effectively improve outcomes for people who have experience lacunar stroke, particularly when they’re used in combination. If confirmed by further trials, the drugs could be available for treating those who have experience a lacunar stroke as early as five years time.
March: Fruit flies reveal how the heart is formed
In March we announced we’d awarded nearly £300,000 to Dr Timothy Saunders and his team at the University of Warwick for a three-year project that uses the heart of fruit flies to understand the genetic basis of how hearts are formed in the embryo.
Fruit flies have genes that are almost identical to a human heart. Dr Saunders’ research is looking at how in early development, different genes interact to determine how cells develop into distinct types of heart cells, and ‘build’ the heart. Dr Saunders hopes this unique method of research could help us better understand the human heart and that it could inform new treatments for heart diseases.
April: A ‘blueprint’ for new heart disease and cancer treatments
Incredible work from our researchers has brought safer cancer treatment closer than ever. Cancer medications are crucial and can improve survival. However sometimes they can lead to side effects such as heart damage, impacting the heart’s ability to pump blood, which can lead to debilitating heart failure.Through studying the genomes of over 37,000 participants without heart disease from the UK BioBank, researchers have identified a cause of this. The team at University College London pinpointed variants of genes that code for the chambers of the heart that pump blood, the ventricles, and identified 33 proteins that are associated with the risk of developing several heart diseases. Many of these proteins are targets of cancer drugs. The team hopes this research will accelerate drug development, providing a ‘blueprint’ for new and safer cancer treatments that could avoid damaging the heart.
May: AI to improve heart attack diagnosis
In May, groundbreaking research from the University of Edinburgh showed that an algorithm developed using artificial intelligence (AI), could be effective in diagnosing heart attacks. The algorithm assessed 10,286 participants and was able to rule out a heart attack in twice as many patients compared to existing testing methods, with an accuracy of 99.6%. This could help hospitals diagnose heart attacks faster and more precisely than ever before. Clinical trials are currently underway to understand whether the algorithm could help relieve pressure on A&E departments.June: ‘Zombie’ cells used to identify healthy hearts for transplant
Currently, the UK is missing out on many hearts for transplant as people aged over 65 are deemed unsuitable to be donors because of their age. However, we know that our hearts age at different rates and age isn’t necessarily the best indicator of heart health. Research presented at the British Cardiovascular Society conference in June suggested that testing potential donors for the presence of harmful ‘zombie cells’ – which take over neighbouring cells and can lead to heart diseases – could help quickly determine whether a donor heart may be suitable for transplant, potentially increasing the number of hearts deemed viable.July: Creating a map of the heart
While many spent summer mapping their holidays, BHF researchers were busy mapping the heart. As part of the international Human Cell Atlas initiative, a team at Imperial College London created a heart atlas, charting important cells that control and regulate the heart’s rhythm. The atlas can now act as a molecular guidebook for researchers to help them understand what happens when cells stop working properly.The team unexpectedly unearthed a close relationship between glial cells in the brain, and cells that help keep the rhythm of the heart. This could open the door for new approaches to preventing and treating potentially life-threatening heart rhythm disturbances.
August: Shining a light on access to defibrillators
In August, new research using data from The Circuit: the national defibrillator network, revealed a link between areas of high deprivation and the nearest lifesaving defibrillator being further away and less accessible.
In England those in the most deprived areas have to travel 99 metres more to access a defibrillator than those living in less deprived areas, and in Scotland, people must travel an extra 317 metres. The study shed light on alarming health inequalities, and the researchers called for urgent action to give everyone the same access to defibrillators, to prevent unnecessary deaths.
September: Benefits of implantable defibrillators in early treatment
Research showed that high-risk heart failure patients could benefit from receiving an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) earlier on in their treatment. A trial led by researchers at Kings’ College London recruited 700 volunteers from 40 hospitals around the UK and analysed the effectiveness of different courses of treatment in people who had coronary artery disease with weakness of their left ventricle.The findings suggested that stents may have limited benefits for this group of patients, and that some people should not have to wait until after stent insertion before being fitted with a potentially lifesaving ICD. However, it’s important to remember that that stents are still incredibly effective for heart attack patients or people with angina.
October: Hope for abdominal aortic aneurysm treatment
October saw an international collaboration bring hope to end the loss of 2,200 lives in the UK each year to abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) through repurposing cholesterol drugs. Genome-wide analysis of 39,000 people with AAA revealed new genes linked to the condition, one of which encodes a protein called PCSK9. In mice, the team found that when PCSK9 was missing, aneurysms grew more slowly, mimicking the effects of drugs that inhibit PCSK9, suggesting they could be an effective treatment to slow harmful growth.
November: AI could save thousands at risk of heart attacks
A new AI tool was found to predict 10-year risk of heart attack in those with chest pain who may not normally be identified as being at risk. Currently, patients undergo a CT scan to check for abnormalities in their blood vessels, and in three quarters of cases there are no clear signs of narrowings. However, sometimes smaller, undetectable narrowings may go under the radar, and these patients may experience heart attack in the future – despite being initially reassured and discharged.Researchers developed and trained the new AI the tool using information on changes in the fat around inflamed arteries, as well as information on narrowing of the arteries and other clinical risk factors. Their analysis revealed it could independently and accurately predict risk of cardiac events. The team provided AI-generated risk scores to clinicians, and found it was effective in informing how patients with chest pain are managed.
December: A&E blood test improves heart attack diagnosis
In December, first-of-its-kind research found that a new blood test has the potential to improve heart attack diagnosis for patients in A&E. By detecting levels of a protein called troponin, which is released by the heart during a heart attack or heart injury, the blood test could improve diagnosis for a fifth of patients with a heart muscle injury.
The new test can identify lower levels of troponin more effectively than previous tests. Clinical trials studied nearly 50,000 participants across 10 different A&E departments, revealing that patients saw a nearly 10 per cent drop in future hospital admissions and deaths in the five years after getting the new test in comparison to current forms of testing.