Predicting cardiovascular events during and after intensive care admissions
Background
Intensive care units (ICUs) support critically ill patients. Historically the benefit of ICU care to patients has been measured in terms of survival. Recently, more attention is being paid to the long-term health problems suffered by patients who have survived an ICU admission. Many of these problems significantly affect patients’ lives.
What is the C3 Study?
The Short and Long-term Cardiovascular Consequences of Critical Illness (C3) Study aims to collect data about the care of patients admitted to ICUs and link this data with NHS long-term follow-up data. Using this linked data we hope to identify the factors that increase patients’ long-term risks of heart problems or strokes and identify those patients at highest risk.
Why is this study important?
We do not have a good understanding of how things that happen during an ICU admission are related to long-term outcomes. This study will investigate one important group of conditions that can occur after an ICU admission – strokes and diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
Strokes and heart attacks after ICU care may result from the patients’ underlying illnesses that led to an ICU admission. This may also be due to long-term effects of things that happen during the admission such as drug certain treatments, procedures or changes in heart rhythm.
What are the potential benefits to patients?
In the community, there are well-established screening tools and treatments to identify high-risk patients and reduce their risk of heart problems and strokes. We are currently unable to identify which patients in the ICU may be at high risk after being discharged. This research will help us identify high risk patients who could be considered for certain treatments that may reduce their long-term risks.