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NCT Number: NCT05208567

London Valvular Heart Disease and Reduced Ejection Fraction Detection in a Multi-ethnic Community Using Cardiac Ultrasound

Heart Valve Disease and Heart failure contribute to 25% of hospital emergency admissions while heart failure alone has become one of the most common causes for hospitalisation in people over the age of 65. The burden of disease is likely to be high in a multi-ethnic community but there is a paucity of data. Management of heart valve disease requires appropriate surveillance and timely surgery. Similarly heart failure management requires treatment with medications aimed at slowing prevention of symptoms and preventing premature death. The NHS long term plan priorities early detection and treatment of valve disease and heart failure in order to reduce the burden on emergency services and improve the health of the population.

Diagnosis is made using cardiac ultrasound, however staff with the required skills-set are critically limited in the community.

The investigators will train non-expert staff within primary care to perform abbreviated cardiac ultrasound to detect heart valve disease or heart failure. This will be opportunistic scanning to reduce healthcare footfall.

All scans will be reviewed by an expert and the investigators will use the anonymised data to develop machine learning tools to begin working with academic partners to develop tools that can improve the reliability of diagnosis from ultrasound.

The investigators hope to identify the proportion with the above conditions in a multi-ethnic community and assess the feasibility of developing a program where staff can be trained for community detection, streamlined referrals can be created bridging the gap between primary and secondary care, reducing hospital emergency admissions, while ensuring patients are managed optimally.

Recruiting

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Key information

Conditions

Heart Valve Diseases Cardiovascular Diseases Heart Diseases Left Ventricular Dysfunction Ventricular Dysfunction Ventricular Dysfunction, Left

Age range

65 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

St Bartholomews Hospital

London, EC1A 7BE, United Kingdom

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Guy Lloyd, MBBS

CONTACT

[email protected]

02073777000

Guy Lloyd, MBBS

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Greater or equal to 65 years old

Exclusion criteria

  • Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease or Vascular Dementia
  • Palliative Care patients.

Treatment and study plan

Echocardiogram

Diagnostic Test

Cardiac Ultrasound Scan - using an abbreviated protocol

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of participants within a North East London community over the age of 65yrs old with Valvular Heart Disease, as assessed by Cardiac Ultrasound

    Time frame: 12 months

    Participants will be recruited while attending their routine health check at their GP practice and consented for a cardiac ultrasound to identify Valvular Heart Disease

  2. Number of participants within a North East London community over the age of 65yrs old with Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction as assessed by Cardiac Ultrasound

    Time frame: 12 months

    Participants will be recruited while attending their routine health check at their GP practice and consented for a cardiac ultrasound to identify Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction.

  3. Diagnostic accuracy in identifying heart valve disease or left ventricular systolic dysfunction using abbreviated echocardiography following training protocols.

    Time frame: 12 months

    Trainees will be taught how to perform and interpret focussed cardiac ultrasound scans, their interpretations and performance will be measured against an expert's and compared.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Guy Lloyd, MBBS

CONTACT

[email protected]

02073777000

Nabila Laskar, MBBS

CONTACT

[email protected]

02073777000

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Queen Mary University of London

Other

Collaborators

  • Barts & The London NHS Trust

Registry information

Acronym: LOVE

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Jan 26, 2022
Registry last updated
Feb 23, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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