20 January 2025
A new study is underway which aims to determine whether a genetic form of heart failure is driven by problems with how the heart makes and uses energy.
Thanks to an extension of funding awarded by the British Heart Foundation, Dr Brian Halliday, consultant cardiologist at Royal Brompton Hospital, will undertake the research as part of an Intermediate Clinical Research Fellowship.
With funding of just under £1million over the next four years, Dr Halliday aims to investigate the most common genetic form of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and heart failure – caused by spelling mistakes in the titin gene.
The titin gene is the most common genetic cause of DCM, a condition that weakens the heart muscle and a special type of MRI scanning will be used to investigate whether there are specific abnormalities in how patients with this form of heart muscle problem make and use energy.
The heart requires large amounts of energy to pump blood around the body and it is possible that patients with this genetic form of heart failure use energy in a less efficient way. If this is confirmed, it will open up opportunities to use new medications to specifically target this problem.
Commenting on his funding, Dr Halliday said:
“I am hugely grateful to the British Heart Foundation for their ongoing support. This allows me to grow my research programme, building on the findings of the previous trials with the aim of finding new therapies for patients with cardiomyopathy. This also allows us to grow the amount of research we can offer to the patients under our care, enabling them to gain the benefit from participating in studies as well.”
The study will be undertaken in collaboration with Imperial College London.
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