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20 21 > Overview // AR 2006
Cardio-respiratory
Laboratory and clinical studies are combined by respiratory researchers
hoping to identify breathing and sleep disorders linked to or resulting from
a disease or injury.
The Cardio-respiratory division combines laboratory
research and clinical studies to enhance our understanding
of common cardio and respiratory disorders like abnormal
heart rhythms and sleep disorders.
The Centre for Heart Research is focused on finding better
treatments for patients with abnormal heart rhythms and to
cures these conditions.
Ventricular trachycardia (VT) is a debilitating condition that
causes the heart to beat rapidly, affecting the heart’s pumping
chambers or ventricles. It usually occurs when the heart
muscle has sustained damaged from previous heart attacks
and can cause sudden death.
VT is treated using a defibrillator, a device which triggers a
painful electric shock to normalise the heartbeat. A therapy
can be applied which modifies abnormal electrical activity
responsible for VT, reducing the need for patients to undergo
the electric shocks. This method uses radiofrequency ablation
to heat the heart tissue using electrical energy to destroy
small regions responsible for VT. To locate these areas more
effectively, researchers are working on a three-dimensional
mapping system, which is based on satellite navigation
technology, to guide clinicians directly to the scarred areas.
Researchers are also developing a novel catheter, which
is positioned within the patient’s heart to indicate where
abnormal electrical activity is originating from. This can be
done from a single abnormal heartbeat, which is a major
improvement on previous methods. The ultimate aim for
researchers is to perfect these innovations so patients with VT
may be cured of the condition.
Researchers have also been working on improving outcomes
for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), rapid heart-beating in
the upper heart chamber, which leads to stroke in about 15
per cent of people aged over 75 years.
Technology developed in France to isolate electrical triggers that
cause AF is being offered to Westmead Hospital patients as an
alternative to medication or open-heart surgery. Researchers at
the centre are working to improve the 70 per cent efficacy of
this treatment and to improve the procedure’s success rate.
Among other projects, researchers have begun collaborating
with Westmead Hospital’s cardiothoracic unit to investigate
ways of refining the artificial mitral valve used to replace the
diseased valve in patients.
The Ludwig Engel Centre for Respiratory Research aims to
improve the quality of life for patients with respiratory and
sleep-related respiratory diseases.
The centre primarily researches the causes, consequences
and potential new treatments of the obstructive sleep apnoea
syndrome, a disorder affecting about 800,000 Australians.
Other research areas include cystic fibrosis, asthma and
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Patients with sleep apnoea experience repeated episodes
of throat blockage during sleep, which stops them from
breathing for short periods of time. The disorder results
from snoring and obstructed breathing and is linked to
hypertension, heart failure, heart attacks as well as stroke.
Over the past year, researchers have been looking at the
role heavy snoring may play in triggering stroke. Vibrations
caused from heavy snoring travel in tissues surrounding
the airways to the carotid arteries found in the neck, which
supply blood to the brain. Researchers are investigating
whether this may exacerbate atherosclerosis (hardening) in
the carotid arteries eventually leading to stroke.
Clinical studies yet to be published on a group of 110
patients with varying degrees of heavy snoring and mild sleep
apnoea showed heavy snoring was associated with a 10- to
17-fold increase in the risk of carotid artery vascular disease.
As research continues, approaches to treatment may alter to
include more regular screening of carotid arteries in patients
who snore heavily and increased research into preventative
therapies for the condition.
Studies over the past year have also assessed the efficacy of
a rehabilitation program designed to minimise hospital
admissions and improve quality of life and wellbeing in
patients with chronic obstructive lung disease. The program
uses a combination of aerobic exercise, education, clinical
support and medication optimization. This successful
combination has been shown to add 60 metres to patients’
walking distance and reduce hospital admission rates over
two years following completion of the program and improve
general wellbeing.