Generous donations from the people of Birmingham and the West Midlands to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) are helping to fund a new £460,000 research project at the University of Birmingham. The researchers are studying a way to reduce the complications children can suffer as a result of heart surgery.
During open heart surgery the heart needs to be stopped temporarily. The patient is put on a heart and lung machine which takes over the heart’s pumping action and moves blood away from the heart. However, stopping the heart may cause damage to the heart muscle. Young children with low oxygen levels in their blood may be more at risk of heart damage than other patients.
The Birmingham team are exploring a way to reduce this damage using the BHF funding. The grant is being announced as part of the BHF’s new research strategy. The BHF has committed to spending over half a billion pounds on research in the next five years but the charity is completely reliant on public donations so this funding will only be possible with continued support.
Previous studies have shown that deliberate repeated short-term reduction of blood flow to the heart just before flow is stopped completely for a longer period can protect it from damage. Mr Nigel Drury and his team, based at the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Birmingham Children’s Hospital, will use a blood pressure cuff technique to temporarily stop blood flow in the legs of young children immediately before they have surgery to correct congenital heart defects.
The team hope that by investigating the effects of this approach they will ultimately be able to make children’s heart surgery safer.
Mr Drury, Clinical Lecturer in Cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Birmingham, said:
“With this funding from the British Heart Foundation we want to see whether, by using the cuff to stop leg blood flow for three cycles of five minutes and five minutes recovery before surgery takes place, we can improve protection of that child’s heart during their operation.”
Currently, the BHF funds over £11 million of cardiovascular research at the University of Birmingham. The half a billion pounds pledged nationally by the BHF as part of their new research strategy will be used to fund the best researchers working across all areas of cardiovascular disease research. However, this commitment to fund life saving research will only be possible with the continued generosity of the people of Birmingham, the West Midlands and the wider UK.
Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said:
“This research being conducted at the University of Birmingham could prove vital in helping young children make a better recovery after open heart surgery.
“The BHF exists to end the suffering caused by all forms of heart and circulatory disease and we’re committed to funding the very best researchers doing the highest quality research in order to achieve that goal.
“We’re only able to fund research like this in Birmingham to improve and save lives because of the generosity of people who donate and fundraise in the city and around the UK. Your continued support will help us deliver on our plans for research over the next five years.”
Find out more about the BHF’s strategy for beating cardiovascular disease at bhf.org.uk/researchstrategy
