The electrocardiogram in myocardial ischaemia

Funded Activity Summary

Coronary artery disease usually presents with chest pain resulting from cardiac muscle being starved of blood and oxygen due to narrowings in the coronary arteries supplying the heart muscle (myocardial ischaemia). The common test to detect this state is the electrocardiogram or ECG which often shows changes known as ST segment shifts. This project follows earlier work and will explain why the ST changes occur and also will determine how to maximize the information from the ECG so that clinicians are better able to predict the site, size and timing of the ischaemia from the ECG. The proposal will use detailed measurement of the electric field around the ischaemic region to build up the three dimensional electric field from which the explanation as to why the body surface patterns occur will be gleaned by computer modelling. This project will extend the field measurement back into the myocardium using intramyocardial electrodes with a spacing of 2 mm. This project will result in better analysis of the ECG in patients with chest pain, better practice in selecting patients for admission or early treatment and could result in substantial savings to the health system from reduced admissions, more appropriate investigation and treatment. A better diagnosis on one patient daily in Austarlia alone would be expected to save one million dollars in the year.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2001

End Date: 01-01-2003

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $189,680.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Nutrigenomics and personalised nutrition

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

ST Depression | assessment of chest pain | electric field | electrocardiogram | ischaemic cardiac muscle | mathematical modelling | myocardial infarction | myocardial ischaemia

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