Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Heart attacks are a major cause of death worldwide, and are caused by blockages in blood vessels located in the heart. Patients with heart attacks are treated using a procedure known as angioplasty, where a small balloon is inserted into the blocked artery and inflated in order to allow the flow of blood. Although this procedure has a fairly high success rate, in a sizable number of patients unblocking the artery does not restore blood flow into the smaller blood vessels of the heart. This phenomenon often results in poorer patient recovery and survival. The movement of blood clots originating from the initial blockage into small blood vessels, is thought to contribute to the problem, however, research surrounding this view is limited. Our project aims to better understand the impact of these small blood clots on heart function by creating an animal model of the human condition. To determine the functional state of the heart in our model, we will use state-of-the-art imaging tools such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and ultrasound. Moreover, we will combine these imaging studies with molecular biological investigations to understand changes happening at the cellular level of the heart. Our study is the first to investigate the impact of blood clots in a heart attack setting. The inability to restore blood flow into small vessels following interventional techniques is a major problem affecting more than 20% of patients with no satisfactory treatment available. Our study will shed much needed light onto this phenomenon, thus striving towards developing a treatment regime that will further reduce morality as a result of heart attacks.