|
Despite the alarming increase in its prevalence, heart failure is commonly misunderstood as “heart attack”. In fact, heart failure is a debilitating, progressive condition that often begins as a response to injury of the heart muscle, for example after heart attack. Heart failure has devastating consequences for patients, representing a host of secondary conditions that result from the failing heart’s inability to adequately pump blood around the body. As more people survive heart attack, the incidence of heart failure is rising. The quality of life for a person with heart failure is dramatically reduced – normal daily activities like walking to the letterbox or making a bed can be an unpleasant, difficult and exhausting experience. In many cases heart failure leads to slow death. Understanding why the heart fails, and who is at risk of the progression of this disease is crucial given the rates of cardiovascular disease here and around the world.
|
It is currently estimated that heart failure affects 300,000 Australians
- Up to 30,000 new cases develop each year
- It is the third largest cause of death among the various forms of cardiovascular disease in Australia
- Heart failure is a major cause of disability in the elderly
The condition represents one of the biggest causes of hospital bed stays and as such is a significant drain on health budgets, costing millions of dollars in home and hospital care The broad work of Baker IDI's research into heart failure is centred on understanding the processes of heart failure in order to identify those who might be at risk of the condition and to halt its progression in those already suffering. In extreme cases, heart failure patients require transplant if they are to have any chance of survival. Investigations by Baker IDI scientists range from efforts to improve the health of those who must undergo heart surgery
to work on the cellular, molecular and genetic underpinnings of the progression from initial heart muscle damage to the condition of heart failure. Our scientists are hoping to not just treat heart failure
better, but to cure it.
Research projects underway include:
- Studies of the enlarged heart (cardiac hypertrophy) - why it is beneficial to athletes but a harmful development in heart failure
- Investigations of the effects of diabetes on the muscle of the heart, and how diabetes contributes to heart disease
- Studies of the effects of the hormone relaxin on fibrotic heart tissue, and how it might improve the ability of a failing heart to pump blood
- Better cardiac surgical techniques, including a novel, non-surgical method for mitral valve repair
- The design of therapies that may regenerate hearts that have failed and how the muscle might be rebuilt to make it function better
- The study of mechanisms whereby the heart responds to stimulation and how these processes contribute to heart disease
- Ways to eliminate the risk of rupture of the ventricular wall, a serious complication of heart attack that almost always leads to sudden death. Research focuses on why it occurs and which drug treatments might prevent it
Our team has already made internationally renowned improvements to the understanding of heart failure and the treatment of those living with this devastating condition. We are devoted to working on existing knowledge and building a better platform for scientists and clinicians to help those stricken with this condition, and the families who love and care for them. Baker IDI's Population Studies and Profiling group is tracking and mapping areas in Australia where heart failure is most concentrated and conducting an analysis of the availability of health care services. This is highlighting the absence of adequate services in some parts of Australia with the greatest need, and will ensure patients have their health concerns understood.