Biomedical Research Informatics Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences (The BRICCS Study)

This project will examine the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with cardiovascular disease in hospital in- and outpatients and compare their characteristics with normal controls from the community. The cardiovascular diseases studied include coronary artery disease, heart failure, heart attacks, valve disease, cardiac surgery, dysrhythmias, aneurysms, embolism, strokes, peripheral vascular disease and hypertension. Current methods for diagnosis and predicting outcome in patients are limited and may lack accuracy. This study will collect clinical details, and blood and urine samples from patients for analysis of proteins, chemicals and genetic biomarkers which will enable an examination of the pathological mechanisms involved in cardiovascular disease. The data will also be used to improve diagnosis and also improve prediction of outcome in patients (future clinical events such as death, further hospitalisation with cardiovascular disease and the effects of any therapy given to the patients). In this way, we can develop accurate ways of assessing a patient's condition and how it could be effectively managed. The study will last for 20 years.