London researchers play leading role in discovery that could have major impact around the world
Research being done in London, Ont. and around the world could very well change the way surgeons approach one of the most common heart valve conditions, which would have global implications.
Researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson) and Western University lead the way in a new global study that can change how surgeons repair leaky valves in the heart.
Many patients may not even realize they have a leaky valve which presents doctors and surgeons with a unique challenge once the patient is in the later stages.
“If the leak in the mitral valve is not repaired, a patient will have problems with fluid retention, shortness of breath and heart failure,” Says Dr. Michael Chu, with Lawson and Western.
“That will then lead to complications requiring hospitalization and eventually an increased risk of death.”
Dr. Chu is the Chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and his team took the lead on the global study that took place in 39 hospitals including London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) in London, Ont.
The team studied two related valves in the heart (mitral and tricuspid valves) that can potentially leak, leading to further complications.
In the past the mitral valve was repaired first under the belief that it will lead to improvements in the other valve, but researchers found that to not always be true.
“What we were concerned with was, if we repair the mitral valve only, will the tricuspid valve still leak?” said Chu.
When researchers looked at patients who had both valves repaired over just one, they found a marked difference.
“What we found two years after the operations was that the group that had both mitral and tricuspid repair had significantly less severe residual leak of the tricuspid valve,” said Chu.
He believes that these findings will have an impact worldwide as to how surgical teams repair leaking heart valves.
This image of a Mitral and Tricuspid repair was supplied by Lawson Health Research Institute.
The study was done through the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network in the United States but Dr. Chu’s team was the top recruiting and research team.
More than 400 cardiac patients took place in the global study.
The next steps in the study, which has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, will be to follow patients for five years and examine their long-term outcomes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'We will rebuild': A look inside the wildfire devastation in Jasper
During a tour of the town with Mayor Richard Ireland, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and other dignitaries on Friday, the indiscriminate nature of the wildfires could be seen everywhere, with Jasper National Park's glorious mountain peaks overlooking the devastation.
How to support adult children, grandchildren financially amid high cost-of-living
Ontario seniors are facing a cash crunch as they continue to support their kids and grandchildren at the expense of their own well-being.
Some residents won't leave B.C. community despite wildfire evacuation orders
It's been a calmer 24 hours on the wildfire front in B.C., but hundreds of properties remain under evacuation orders in the Central Kootenay region as anxious residents hope for the best.
Hungary’s nationalist leader warns of EU's demise and backs Trump in anti-Western speech
Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday that the European Union was sliding toward oblivion in a rambling anti-Western speech in which he warned of a new, Asia-oriented 'world order' while throwing his support for Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential bid.
Celine Dion delivers stirring comeback performance at Paris Olympics opening ceremony
Against the rainy Paris night sky, Celine Dion staged the comeback of her career with a powerful performance from the Eiffel Tower to open the Olympic Games.
'It's completely gone.' After fast-moving wildfire destroys brother's home, woman opens her own to evacuees
Kim Titchener knows first-hand how caring the Jasper community can be, and she's hoping to give back as much as possible now that the town and its people are in need.
Olympics organizers confident triathlon will go ahead despite rain impact on Seine
Paris 2024 organizers are confident the triathlon events will take place as scheduled on Tuesday even though recent rainfall might lead to Sunday's swimming training session being cancelled due to concerns over the water quality in the Seine.
Canada's Christine Sinclair: 'We were never shown drone footage'
Canada soccer great Christine Sinclair said on Friday national team players were never shown drone footage during the more than two decades she was on the team, following a spying scandal that cast a shadow over the Canadians at the Paris Games.
Fire crews take advantage of recent cool weather in battling Jasper wildfires
Cool and wet weather continued to help crews battling the wildfires in Jasper National Park.