With the aid of tiny defibrillators, a clinical trial worth £1.8 million has been started to help heart patients.
With the goal of lowering deaths from sudden cardiac arrests, the devices will be implanted beneath the patient's skin.
According to researchers, people who have scarring on their hearts may be more susceptible to experiencing abnormal heart rhythms and could therefore benefit from defibrillators.
The 2,500 patient trial is currently underway at five hospitals, including ones in Southampton and Portsmouth.
The study's first participant, Phil O'Donoghue from Chandler's Ford in Hampshire, has had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) fitted.
ICDs, which are tiny devices that are frequently implanted in the chests of heart failure patients, shock the heart electrically to treat cardiac arrest and stop abnormal rhythms.
Trial researchers claim that some people are currently having the devices fitted unnecessarily, though.
The study's first participant was a patient named Phil O'Donoghue.
Heart failure was initially identified in May 2020 in Mr. O'Donoghue, 53, who has non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM).
When I was taken to the hospital, tests revealed that my heart's ejection rate was only 24%, which meant that blood was not being properly pumped throughout my body.
"I was informed that a trial was about to begin and that I met their requirements. " .
Chief investigator for the trial is Dr. Andrew Flett.
Dr. Andrew Flett, the trial's chief investigator from University Hospital Southampton, stated that he wanted to discover "a better way" to evaluate patients' suitability for these devices.
"The current recommendations look at how well the heart is pumping to determine which patients should receive a defibrillator," he said.
"But many patients who undergo the process of having a defibrillator fitted won't actually see the device triggered and may not need it," the author writes. ".
For the first time, a trial will examine whether the presence of scar tissue can indicate who needs to have an ICD fitted. .
The British Heart Foundation's medical director, Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, said: ". In order to prevent unnecessary invasive procedures being performed on people who are unlikely to benefit, it is crucial that we continue to identify precisely which patients require them (ICDs). " .
In addition to hospitals in Aberdeen, East Kent, and Barts in London, the trial is currently underway. An additional 30 sites will open in the upcoming months.
The NIHR Southampton Clinical Trials Unit is leading the study, which is funded by the British Heart Foundation.
