Heart-lung interactions determine right ventricular function in the perinatal period.

Funded Activity 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, 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.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2002

End Date: 01-01-2004

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $421,980.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Public health nutrition

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Birth | Cardiac Mechanics | Cardiovascular Physiology | Hemodynamics | Right Ventricle | birth | cardiovascular | infant, premature | pulmonary hypertension | right ventricular function

Related Links