Irish cardiac research hailed as ‘potential game-changer’

AN IRISH clinical trial that saw highresolution scanning technology used to identity heart disease has been hailed as a potential game-changer for cardiac treatment.

A team at the University of Galway used CT-scan imagery to pinpoint coronary artery disease and blockages as an alternative to traditional angiographs – an invasive procedure that involves the puncturing of blood vessels, insertion of cables and use of dyes. The team based at the university’s CORRIB Core Lab analysed the images taken from patients in trial hospitals in the US and Europe.

The research, published yesterday in the European Heart Journal, found that the approach was 99.1% feasible, with the cardiac CT scanning offering good diagnostic accuracy without the need for invasive diagnostic catheterisation.

The trial was sponsored by the University of Galway and funded by GE Healthcare, based in Chicago, and HeartFlow, based in Redwood City, California.

Trial chairman Professor Patrick W Serruys, from the University of Galway, said: ‘The results... have the potential to simplify the planning for patients undergoing heart bypass surgery.

‘The trial and the central role played by the CORRIB Core Lab puts University of Galway on the front line of cardiovascular diagnosis, planning and treatment of coronary artery disease.’

The research involved 114 patients who had severe blockages in multiple vessels, limiting blood flow to their heart.

Prof. Serruys said the study offered the potential for a ‘monumental shift in healthcare’. He explained: ‘Interventional cardiologists could consider circumventing traditional invasive cineangiography and instead rely solely on CT scans for procedural planning.’

A randomised trial involving more than 2,500 patients in 80 hospitals in Europe is now set to be undertaken.

Dr Yoshi Onuma, medical director of the CORRIB Research Centre, said it ‘may become a game-changer, altering the relationship between GP, radiologist, cardiologist and cardio-thoracic surgeon for the benefit of the patient’.