Deepthi Rajan - PhD Scholarship 2025
Project summary:
An Elucidation of The Mechanistic Link between Atrial Fibrillation and Cardiac Arrest
Is atrial fibrillation (AF) associated with an elevated risk of cardiac arrest (CA) through a common molecular pathway with ventricular fibrillation (VF)? This project utilizes nationwide epidemiological studies to investigate the risk of CA in AF patients and experimental animal models to clarify underlying mechanisms. Enhanced knowledge of the pathophysiological link between AF and CA could lay the foundation for more precise pharmacological and device therapies to reduce CAs in AF patients.
Project Title
An Elucidation of The Mechanistic Link between Atrial Fibrillation and Cardiac Arrest
Background
By 2030, an estimated 1 in 4 middle-aged adults in Europe and the US will develop AF. CA continue to claim countless lives yet could be prevented with implantable cardioverter defibrillators for high-risk patients identified via risk stratification tools. Despite emerging evidence linking AF to CA, it is not yet resolved whether AF should be incorporated in risk tools for CA.
Aim
To quantify to what degree AF patients are at higher risk of CA and clarify underlying mechanisms in animal models.
Methods
- Assess and quantify AF as a risk factor for CA in a Danish nationwide cohort study
- Validate findings in US case-control cohorts to identify high-risk AF patient subgroups
- Employ an experimental model to determine VF susceptibility in AF vs. non-AF minipigs.
Deepthi Rajan
- MD
- The Heart Centre, 2142, Copenhagen University Hospital
Main supervisor:
Professor Jacob Tfelt-Hansen, Dept. of Cardiology, Rigshospitalet & Dept. of Forensic Genetics, University of Copenhagen
Co-supervisors:
Professor Thomas Jespersen, University of Copenhagen, Institute of Biomedical Sciences
Professor Sumeet Chugh, Center for Cardiac Arrest Prevention, Cedars-Sinai, USA
Professor, Fredrik Folke, Dept. of Cardiology & Emergency Medical Services, Copenhagen Univ. Hospital, Herlev and Gentofte