Thomas Hadberg Lynge - Postdoctoral Fellowship 2024
Project summary:
Risk factors of sudden cardiac death in patients with psychiatric disease
Our overarching hypothesis is that there are undiscovered risk factors explaining the increased risk of sudden cardiac death observed in patients with psychiatric disease. We propose that extensive information on comorbidity and legal and illegal drug usage, can be utilized to improve risk stratification and develop novel preventive strategies in this patient population.
Project Title
Risk factors of sudden cardiac death in patients with psychiatric disease
Background
Sudden cardiac death is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Patients diagnosed with severe psychiatric disorders have an up to 20-year shorter life expectancy, in part due to an increased risk of sudden death. This is related to multiple factors, including unhealthy lifestyle, and comorbidities, while side effects of treatment and polypharmacy including legal and illegal substances likely also play a major role.
Aim
The aim of this project is to identify novel risk factors of sudden death in patients with psychiatric disease, which will pave the way for improved risk stratification and could potentially enable us to lower the risk of sudden death among these patients.
Method
For >12,000 sudden cardiac death cases in Denmark, we have access to the full autopsy report, including toxicology, data on medical history and prescribed medicinal usage. Using this information, we can identify legal and illegal drug combinations associated with sudden death. The effect of the identified drugs on the electrical stability of the heart will be examined in ex vivo beating guinea pig hearts and in vivo pig models.
Thomas Hadberg Lynge
- MD and PhD
- Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet
Primary principal investigator:
Professor Jacob Tfelt-Hansen, MD, DMSc. The Department of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet
Primary principal investigator:
Professor Thomas Jespersen, PhD, DMSc, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen
Professor Elijah Behr, MBBS, MD, FRCP, FESC. St George's, University of London and St George's Hospital, London