Structural And Functional Consequences Of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Regression.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$293,036.00
Summary
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a thickening of the heart muscle walls that occurs in a variety of cardiovascular diseases, including high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cardiac valve disorders and heart dilatation. The presence of LVH increases the risk of developing heart attacks, heart failure and death. Treatment of these disorders is a major component of our escalating health-care costs. Consequently, reversal of LVH may have significant benefits to individual patients and s ....Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a thickening of the heart muscle walls that occurs in a variety of cardiovascular diseases, including high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cardiac valve disorders and heart dilatation. The presence of LVH increases the risk of developing heart attacks, heart failure and death. Treatment of these disorders is a major component of our escalating health-care costs. Consequently, reversal of LVH may have significant benefits to individual patients and society in general. We propose to develop a mouse model of an inherited form of LVH that is caused by gene mutations in heart muscle proteins. This model will enable us to study in detail the disease processes that cause LVH and the effects of reversing LVH. This information will be invaluable for determining the best ways of treating patients with LVH.Read moreRead less
Regulatory Pathways Of Compensatory Left Ventricular Hypertrophy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$309,536.00
Summary
An increase in muscle bulk (hypertrophy) of the major pumping chamber of the heart, the left ventricle, occurs as a compensatory mechanism to maintain cardiac function in a wide variety of common cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension. Nevertheless, this compensatory mechanism appears to be strongly associated with an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Consequently, the prevention or reversal of left ventricular hypertrophy is one of the major goals of the treatment of p ....An increase in muscle bulk (hypertrophy) of the major pumping chamber of the heart, the left ventricle, occurs as a compensatory mechanism to maintain cardiac function in a wide variety of common cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension. Nevertheless, this compensatory mechanism appears to be strongly associated with an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Consequently, the prevention or reversal of left ventricular hypertrophy is one of the major goals of the treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease. This project aims to improve our understanding of the complex chemical messengers in the heart muscle that control the development of hypertrophy to provide a basis for more specific drug treatments to control this process, with the aim of reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with hypertrophy.Read moreRead less
NOVEL CGMP-BASED THERAPIES PREVENT LEFT VENTRICULAR REMODELLING
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$533,433.00
Summary
Over 300,000 Australians are affected by heart failure. Current drugs for cardiac remodelling (the decline in heart pumping function and changed structure that precede heart failure) slow but not reverse disease progression. We have identified a new, nitrovasodilator-based therapy superior to those currently available. We propose it represents a more effective treatment for reversing abnormalities in both structure and function in the remodelled heart, preventing or delaying heart failure.
TARGETING ROS-INDUCED DAMAGE RESCUES THE DIABETIC HEART
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$487,669.00
Summary
Over 1 million Australians have diabetes. Many of these patients die from cardiovascular disease. We have identified free radicals as a major cause of decreased pumping function and impaired recovery from each heartbeat in the diabetic heart. Stronger antioxidant approaches and-or activation of protective protein pathways is a more effective treatment for reversing impaired function in the diabetic heart, preventing or delaying heart failure in patients with diabetes.
Value Of Central Blood Pressure For GUIDing ManagEment Of Hypertension (BP GUIDE Study)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$339,553.00
Summary
A pressure pulse may be felt at the wrist with every heart beat. New technology allows the analysis of this pulse and measurement of blood pressure (BP) at the heart (central BP) . This information may help doctors improve the decision making process regarding a patient's risk related to BP as well as the effect of drug treatment. The study aims to test this theory. It is expected that the new technology will improve the way people with high BP are identified and treated.
Importance Of The Transmural Distribution Of Viable Myocardium To Outcome Of Patients After Revascularization
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$268,800.00
Summary
After a heart attack, up to 50% of tissue showing reduced function can recover if blood supply is returned to normal with bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty. Because these procedures may be risky in cardiac patients, the investigators have used various imaging approaches including radionuclide and ultrasound techniques to predict regions where function will recover after intervention. The results of these tests may be discordant because they assess separate attributes of cardiac muscle, and s ....After a heart attack, up to 50% of tissue showing reduced function can recover if blood supply is returned to normal with bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty. Because these procedures may be risky in cardiac patients, the investigators have used various imaging approaches including radionuclide and ultrasound techniques to predict regions where function will recover after intervention. The results of these tests may be discordant because they assess separate attributes of cardiac muscle, and selection of patients for intervention on the basis of recovery of regional function ignores some other aspects that may be important. These include avoidance of heart enlargement, improvement of exercise capacity, and avoidance of heart rhythm disturbances and even other heart attacks. In this study, the investigators seek to define the importance of the proportion and site of live (viable) myocardium to the parameters listed above. A new magnetic resonance technique will be used to identify whether radionuclide and ultrasound techniques assess different parts of the heart wall. The relative importance of these sites will be identified by comparing the outcome of patients who have live tissue in the inner half, compared with the outer half of the heart wall. This study will involve 180 patients who will undergo testing with magnetic resonance and radionuclide imaging. A subgroup will undergo dobutamine echocardiography. Their responses over follow-up will be assessed by accurate evaluation of heart size, exercise response, heart rhythm abnormalities and clinical events.Read moreRead less
Cardiac-specific Therapy Targeting Hypertrophy And Apoptotis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$542,683.00
Summary
We have discovered that certain pathological responses in the heart are mediated by an unusual type of signalling protein. The aim of the proposed studies is to determine whether this unusual signalling mechanism can provide a good target for development of new therapeutic approaches to prevent or treat heart failure.
Linking Early Heart Growth Stress And Adult Cardiopathology: A New Role For Autophagy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$524,013.00
Summary
An enlarged heart at maturity is a major risk factor. The goal of this project is to understand how cardiac growth abnormality in the neonate contributes to adult growth pathology. We have recently discovered that a type of stress-triggered cell death (autophagy) is increased in rodent neonatal hearts which later become enlarged, and that this cell death is regulated by the hormone angiotensin II. We will study the mechanisms involved to identify intervention opportunities to normalize growth.
Heart-lung Interactions Determine Right Ventricular Function In The Perinatal Period.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$421,980.00
Summary
Birth, and the ensuing stress of newborn life, requires the heart to dramatically increase its level of functioning. Understanding how this process occurs remains a key problem as the heart lacks any ability to increase its level of functioning immediately before birth. Failure to effect this increase in heart function promptly at birth has serious implications for the well being of the newborn and represents a major problem in newborn medicine. Of the 250,000 babies born each year in Australia, ....Birth, and the ensuing stress of newborn life, requires the heart to dramatically increase its level of functioning. Understanding how this process occurs remains a key problem as the heart lacks any ability to increase its level of functioning immediately before birth. Failure to effect this increase in heart function promptly at birth has serious implications for the well being of the newborn and represents a major problem in newborn medicine. Of the 250,000 babies born each year in Australia, as many as 5,000 require intensive care primarily for cardiorespiratory complications. Accurate diagnosis and effective treatment of these infants demands knowledge of the normal heart adaptations that accompany birth, adaptations that are critically linked to the way in which the heart and the lungs interact. This project investigates how interactions between the heart and the lungs determines heart function throughout life. By understanding this process we will provide essential information that will aid the diagnosis and treatment of sick neonates undergoing intensive care.Read moreRead less