A new Heart Foundation and HRC-funded trial led by University of Otago, Christchurch researcher Professor Mark Richards will monitor 450 Auckland and Canterbury patients suffering from acute heart failure.
The aim of the trial is to identify and measure levels of a heart hormone found in the blood called NT-pro BNP. This hormone, which is released when the heart is under stress, was first discovered by researchers at the Canterbury Heart Institute in the late 1990s. That discovery allowed doctors around the world to individually tailor drug therapy to suit each patient.
Professor Richards and his team hope this new trial will help reduce the number of heart failure patients who are re-admitted to hospital within a month of their first visit.