By Ebba Ritzen
A research project at the University of Leeds aiming to find an easier way to establish the optimum heart rate for heart failure patients with pacemakers, has received a £200,000 grant from Heart Research UK. This could reduce symptoms of heart failure and enable patients to be more physically active, which would improve their lives.
Heart failure is a condition where the heart fails to pump enough blood around the body, and it’s a long-term condition that gradually gets worse over time. People with heart failure often suffer from breathlessness and fatigue, often to the point where something as simple as walking up the stairs can be an overwhelming task.
When healthy people exercise, their heart rates increase together with heart pumping power so that more blood is pumped to the muscles. In heart failure, this relationship is disrupted, meaning that above an optimal heart rate range, the heart’s pumping power actually decreases. Also, some of the medication prescribed to people with heart failure limit how fast the heart can beat, which can contribute to the breathlessness and fatigue experienced during physical activity.
Around 30% of people with heart failure will get a pacemaker implanted in the chest, which can increase the heart rate during physical activity. An ultrasound scan of the heart, called echocardiography, can be used to measure each person’s individual optimal heart rate and programme the pacemaker accordingly. However, echocardiography is a very time consuming and expensive process, and therefore it is often inaccessible.
The new research project, led by Dr John Gierula, will instead use a different monitoring device which uses blood pressure cuffs around the fingers, to establish this optimum heart rate. This procedure is very cheap compared to echocardiography and can be carried out in minutes. The researchers aim to find out if this method is a valid alternative to the original heart scan method. If it is shown to be as effective, it could be incorporated within routine practice in the NHS.
Dr John Gierula
Dr John Gierula said:
‘We’re hoping this method will prove to be an accurate and cost-efficient alternative to echocardiography. Overall, the study represents a step closer to widespread personalised pacemaker programming, which has the potential to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life for patients with heart failure and pacemakers across the world.’
Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive at Heart Research UK, said:
‘We know that many patients with heart failure struggle to be physically active, even with a pacemaker implanted. That’s why we’re so pleased to give one of our Novel and Emerging Technologies Grants to Dr Gierula and his team. They are aiming to develop a new method for personalising pacemaker programming and improve these patients’ lives, which is ultimately what our research grants are all about.’
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