Using developments in arterial imaging, CORDA is expanding its research to include the prevention of unexpected sudden deaths in adolescents and young people.
One project at Royal Brompton Hospital is looking at young people who were either born with heart problems or who have developed heart problems in early life. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging will be used to look for inflammation within the heart muscle to determine whether this predicts the risk of future heart failure and sudden cardiac death.
A second study is investigating adults with heart disease (cardiomyopathy) to look for similar inflammation and to assess future risk. If inflammation does predict future heart failure then this technique could become a valuable took for assessing risk in the general population and reduce the risk of sudden death in young adults.
At Great Ormond Street CMR is being used to study early signs of atherosclerosis in childhood and its relation to associated characteristics such as obesity. In particular this study is looking at potential ways of reversing established changes, resulting in long-term cardiac health.