Two-minute heart scan developed by Oxford academics could transform lives

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has awarded Oxford University professors Oliver Rider and Damian Tyler £305,000 to test the scan on patients who are undergoing treatment for coronary heart disease.

Cardiovascular (heart and circulatory) disease causes more than a quarter of all deaths in the UK, killing more than 160,000 people each year.

But this death rate could now be reduced as the two-minute scan will give a quicker and more accurate diagnosis of coronary heart disease.

The disease occurs when the arteries leading to the heart become narrowed by a gradual build-up of fatty materials within their walls.

This build-up can block the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the heart and cause tissue to die or become damaged.

Coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty, where a stent is inserted to widen the narrowed coronary artery, can both stop the fatty material blocking the arteries, and therefore prevent the death of tissue.

If the new scan is successful the time taken to diagnose a problem with the heart could be reduced by up to 58 minutes, at just two minutes, rather than a Magnetic Resonance Imaging’s (MRI) time of up to an hour.

There are a number of different scans available, including radioactive x-rays, an electrocardiogram (ECG) which is often only the first in a number of scans needed, or an Electrophysiological (EP) study which could take up to three hours and involves flexible tubes called catheters being inserted into the groin.

These imaging techniques are still not completely effective meaning doctors who are forced to make important decisions about whether to give a patient surgery find it difficult to know what to do.

This can lead to people having invasive tests they don’t need, or not being offered revascularisation treatment when they do.

Professor Rider said: “This new scan would give doctors images of the heart in a detail they’ve never had before, enabling them to make better decisions for patients about their risk and need for treatment.

“Coronary artery bypass surgery and angioplasty already provide really effective treatments for heart disease and this will help us better identify those who could most benefit from them.

“The scan can also be done very quickly, freeing-up valuable time and resources.

"It has the potential to become the gold standard for heart imaging.”

Conventional MRI works by measuring out how tiny proton particles within the body change position when subjected to a strong magnetic field and this information is used to create a detailed picture of the heart, or other parts of the body.

The new hyperpolarised MRI scan's signal is 25,000 times more powerful than those currently used as it produces pictures in carbon molecules, rather than protons – meaning areas of the heart without oxygen can also be seen.

Doctors could now examine areas of the heart which are irreversibly damaged or have the potential to recover if blood flow is restored, meaning they will not only be able to make better decisions about who could benefit from coronary heart disease treatments, but those treatments could be targeted more effectively.

To prove the concept, patients undergoing treatment for coronary heart disease will be recruited to take part in the study.

The new scan will be performed on them along with the current tests to discover if the two-minute test really can improve the accuracy of diagnosis.

Dr Shannon Amoils, senior research adviser at the BHF, said: “This powerful technique has the potential to revolutionise the management of people with coronary heart disease by allowing improved diagnosis and targeted treatment.

“Funding science like this is part of our continuing efforts to transform the way heart disease is diagnosed and treated.

"Through the public’s generosity we will fund half a billion pounds of research over the next five years.

"It’s only by making this investment that we can save lives in the future.”