Investigation on the effect of side branch pre-dilatation in coronary bifurcation lesions (CBFL)

Mourushi Isa at TCT conference

SCS BMedSc(Hons) student Ms Mourushi Isa recently presented her research project on "the effect of side branch pre-dilatation in coronary bifurcation lesions (CBFL)", at the prestigious TCT conference in San Diego, amidst a number of leaders in the field of cardiology from all over the world.

Coronary artery blocks (ischaemic heart disease) are once of the major causes of death in Australia. In 2015, 12.4% of the deaths in Australia were due to coronary artery blocks.  This study investigates stenting of the coronary arteries. Every year, more than 47,000 procedures involving stents (a mesh tube that helps to keep a closed artery open) are performed in Australia. Stents are used to treat patients with coronary artery blockage, who do not require a bypass surgery or are not suitable for surgery.

"In order to keep the artery open, the stent needs to 'fit' into the artery. When the artery has branches, it becomes harder to find a stent that fits the particular pattern of the artery. Side-branch pre-dilatation is one method of stenting arteries that have branches", said Mourushi.

Mourushi and her team in collaboration with MonashHeart investigated how side branch predilation affects the angiographic and clinical outcomes.  They analysed eight studies to investigate whether this method of stenting has any impact on procedural success and clinical outcomes.

Speaking of the main finding and clinical implication of  her research, Mourushi said, "We found that side-branch pre-dilatation showed a trend of association with increased use of more than one stent in patients. The use of more than one stent has been previously found to increase adverse outcomes for patients".

The clinical implication of our study is that side-branch pre-dilatation may lead to increased adverse complications for patients in the long term, by increasing the use of more than one stent. However, we also acknowledge that our study has a few limitations that may need to be addressed.

This study will help clinicians guide their choice of procedure when performing stenting of coronary arteries. This will hopefully lead to better long term outcomes for patients".

TCT is Mourushi's first ever international super speciality conference and she said, "TCT was a great experience, both personally and professionally".  It was a humbling experience to listen to leaders in the field from all over the world and to explore the new and exciting findings in the field of interventional cardiology. As a medical student, it gave me an exciting opportunity to interact with interventional cardiologists from different parts of the world and present our findings in front of them".

Mourushi's advice for future BMedSc students is, "to work hard during the year and be prepared to go out of their comfort zones. They should try their best to utilise every opportunity presented to them, even if it seems difficult at the start!"

"I could not have succeeded in my presentation without the support I received from my senior colleagues at the department. I would like to thank my supervisors, Prof. James Cameron and Dr. Sam Mirzaee for their support throughout the year. I would also like to convey my thanks to Dr. Adam Brown, Dr. Ben Dundon, Dr. Michael Michail, Dr. Abdul Rahman Ihdayhid and Dr. Zason Nogic for taking time out of their busy schedule to help me prepare for the presentation", Mourushi said.