The BeatEdition 2 2018

Revolutionising Heart Failure Treatment

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Associate Professor Claudine Bonder and Postdoctoral Research Scientist Dr Eli Moore have one goal – to prevent the many deaths that occur from heart disease in Australia each year. How will they achieve their goal? They’re looking at revolutionising one of the most common treatments for heart failure, stenting.

Heart failure typically occurs due to a blocked blood vessel, or in the elderly population because the vessels become thinner and more fragile during the ageing process. Currently when this heart failure occurs, a patient is treated in one of two ways, angioplasty or stenting.

Stenting is where a small device is inserted into the narrow blood vessels to open them up and maintain their width. Unfortunately, these stents are a foreign entity, which the body recognises and tries to attack one way or another.

“In Australia alone, there are 26,000 stents surgically inserted every year. This number is continuing to grow each year because of our growing and ageing population,” A/Prof Bonder said. “As stents are a foreign entity introduced into the body, patients often have to take anti-platelet therapy for a number of years. This has a huge impact on them both personally and financially.

“On top of this, once a patient has a stent inserted they often also need further reintervention and more stents."

A/Prof Bonder and Dr Moore have created and are testing an anti-adhesive protective coating that would essentially cloak a stent to make it invisible to the body and thus potentially reduce the need for further stents or ongoing anti-platelet therapy.

“What we’re trying to do first is to make the stent invisible to the body when it is inserted.

“Secondly, we’re looking at lining this protective coating so that it captures the all-important blood vessel cells so that they can quickly cover the stent and turn it into a ‘normal’ looking blood vessel.”

Working in collaboration with the Cell Therapy Manufacturing CRC to produce this groundbreaking nanotechnology, A/Prof Bonder and Dr Moore are hopeful this new revolutionary stent could soon change the lives of patients with heart failure due to blocked blood vessels.

“If this research continues to show promising results we’re hopeful it will revolutionise stenting in Australia and across the globe.” This research will truly save lives and prevent the heartbreaking impact of heart disease. You can support lifesaving research like this! Visit our website australianheartresearch.com.au, to find out how.

Heart Failure occurs when the heart does not pump enough blood to satisfy the needs of the body. The term ‘Heart Failure’ doesn’t necessarily mean that the heart has stopped working or is about to, just that it is not performing as well as it should.

Did You Know?

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New Research to Improve Iron Deficiency in Pregnancy

Could an iron infusion improve the cardiovascular function of pregnant women? New research is set to find out!Young researcher Min (Susie) Kim has secured an Early Career Introduction to Research Fellowship and will be researching the health impacts iron deficiency can have on a pregnant woman’s cardiovascular function at the Lyell McEwin Hospital.

Susie’s project stems from research performed by her supervisor, Northern Adelaide Local Health Network based Associate Professor Bernd Froessler. His past projects found that iron deficiency (lack of iron, which can lead to decreased red blood cells) during pregnancy leads to increased risk of pregnancy complications including bleeding and a torn placenta. These factors could be life threatening for women and their unborn babies.

Susie believes that the mechanism behind this may be due to the cardiovascular changes that happen due to iron deficiency.

“There is limited research around how low iron levels affect cardiovascular health in pregnant women so the aim of my research is to determine how iron deficiency affects the cardiovascular system. We are thinking that cardiovascular health in pregnant women will improve once iron levels are back to normal through an iron infusion,” Susie said.“As part of the research project, we are looking to include 10 pregnant women who are already diagnosed with iron deficiency to undergo an iron infusion.

“We will then test their cardiovascular function and red blood cells after a few days to see if their function has improved from the infusion. We will also be including

five healthy pregnant volunteers to see what their cardiovascular health is like and compare their outcomes against those with iron deficiency.

“This will tell us if the improvement in cardiovascular function in pregnant women matches the normal levels of cardiovascular health.

“If I can prove iron infusion can improve the cardiovascular function and decrease adverse pregnancy outcomes that would be a great result for women.

“I am very grateful for the funding I’ve been awarded and to the generous donors who make it possible for young researchers like myself to have a chance to begin a hopefully long research career.”You can help us support young researchers like Susie who are dedicated to beating heart disease, to find out how, visit our website australianheartresearch.com.au or call 08 8244 0591.

If you would like to learn more or be involved in Susie’s study, email contactus@ausheartresearch.com.au

During pregnancy it is recommended you increase the amount of iron to support the baby, placenta and additional red blood cells.

Did You Know?

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Grant’s Life-Changing Diagnosis of Atrial Fibrillation

Imagine being diagnosed with a condition you’ve never heard of. This was the frightening reality for 55-year-old loving father-of-two Grant Octoman who was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation (AF), a condition affecting the heart, making it beat out of rhythm.Fit and healthy, Grant never missed a workout and prided himself on running eight kilometres almost every day. However, Grant was unknowingly experiencing signs of AF through episodes of severe sweat, which he put down to travelling for work and a lack of sleep.

While enjoying a weekend in Melbourne with his loving wife Sharron, Grant suffered a stroke in June 2016 and doctors weren’t sure what caused it.

“I was about to watch a football game with Sharron when I began experiencing double vision. We rushed to emergency where I was told I had suffered a mini stroke. At the time doctors couldn’t tell me why,” Grant said.This experience changed Grant’s life forever. Living in fear he would suffer another stroke, he put his life on hold and even stopped exercising, fearing the worst. At home six months later Grant knew something was wrong and checked himself into hospital where he met Professor Prashanthan (Prash) Sanders, a clinician-scientist specialising in heart rhythm disorders at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) who finally diagnosed him with AF.

“I had never heard of AF before but felt relief when I was diagnosed as I now knew what I was dealing with. I also found out the condition contributes to a third of all strokes, explaining why I suffered my stroke six months earlier,” Grant said.

Now, thanks to research proudly support by Australian Heart Research (AHR), talented researchers Prof Sanders

and Dr Jeroen Hendriks' promising AF research will help those like Grant living with this life-changing condition.

Dr Hendriks is working with Prof Sanders to develop a specialised, multi-disciplinary clinic at the RAH that has an integrated care (i-CARE) approach for the management of AF. The i-CARE clinic will combine the important care components for AF and ensure collaboration between specialists, nurses and allied professionals all while maintaining a patient-centred approach to treatment.

“I believe our clinic will save lives and prevent life-threatening outcomes for those who suffer from AF. I think the way forward is to redesign our care processes for treating AF and if we don’t, the prevalence will continue to rise,” Dr Hendriks said.

“I’m so grateful for the funding we have received towards our clinic through The Hospital Research Foundation (THRF) and charitable affiliate AHR. Funding is absolutely crucial otherwise we cannot keep conducting our research that will help Australians and those around the world who have AF.”This vital research will help those like Grant living with AF.

“I can’t help thinking if I knew what AF was I could have prevented my stroke but I’m glad I was finally diagnosed and I am now managing my AF independently through lifestyle factors,” Grant said.

If you would like to find out more or donate to Prof Sanders and Dr Hendriks research, please contact us on 08 8244 0591. Thank you!

(08) 8244 0591www.australianheartresearch.com.au

Have you been touched by heart disease?We would love to share your story! Email us at contactus@ausheartresearch.com.au or call 08 8244 0591.

Did you know patients with diabetes are six times more likely to develop heart disease than those without diabetes? Now, promising research could change this statistic and improve the lives of those living with this debilitating condition.

“I will then investigate whether stopping this enzyme, with a specific inhibitor can reverse the malfunction of a diabetic heart and stop it from running out of energy,” Dr Chong said.

“If my research proves to help the diabetic heart, the inhibitor could be used routinely to protect it, not only from the development of heart failure but also to reduce the impact of associated vessel disease on the function of the heart.”Dr Chong is hopeful her research will decrease the risk of heart disease in diabetes, ultimately saving the lives of all Australians living with diabetes.

“This fellowship will provide me the opportunity to test out my theory, in the hope that it will be beneficial for patients suffering diabetes one day. I also hope by the end of this fellowship I am well-equipped to advance to the next stage of my career.

“I am so thankful to have received funding from AHR and also thank their generous donors who have made it possible to receive this type of funding.”

You can donate towards life-saving research by contacting us on 08 8244 0591. You will help beat heart disease!

Innovative Research to Combat Heart Disease in Diabetes

Armed with an Early Career Fellowship, Dr Cher-Rin Chong is undertaking research looking to combat heart failure in diabetes!

Currently, the most common problems encountered in patients with diabetes are related to heart disease, including an increased risk of heart attacks, blood clots and heart failure. The reason for this is currently unclear and Dr Chong’s research is set to change this.

“My research will focus on one possibility that the diabetic heart ‘runs out of energy’ when processing carbohydrates as glucose. One possible cause of low energy level in a diabetic heart is the overactivation of a specific enzyme,” Dr Chong said.“In addition, the heart is usually capable of using a different substance in the body to generate energy interchangeably. However, this ability is lost in the diabetic heart and it relies on fatty acids for the generation of energy, which can restrict oxygen supply.

“All these factors contribute to an increased risk of heart failure in diabetes.”

With this knowledge, Dr Chong is hoping to combat heart failure in diabetes by researching whether this enzyme activation is responsible for the damage of heart function in diabetes and exactly how it does so.

Australian Heart Research is part of The Hospital Research Foundation Group

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