Cardiovascular science: the heart of the matter

The Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester has an international reputation for research. This was a key factor when the National Institute for Health Research decided to locate a new multi-million pound Biomedical Research Unit at Leicester. Designed to enable Britain’s best health researchers and clinicians to work together, Biomedical Research Units are partnerships between an NHS Trust and a university.

A major breakthrough was the Department's major role in the development of ‘drug-eluting stents’. A stent is simply a narrow tube inserted into a partially blocked artery to open up the blood vessel – but traditional stents had one major flaw. Without constant drugs, a patient’s cells grew around the stent, often leading to a repeat of the blockage.

By coating stents with anti-cancer drugs, researchers were able to reduce the angioplasty failure rate to almost zero and remove patients’ dependence on drugs. This technique benefitted heart patients in Leicester hospitals before becoming accepted around the world. It is just one of the many research projects with international impact into aspects of heart disease and vascular science – from genetic causes to keyhole surgery, to deep vein thrombosis – which have been developed, taught and applied in Leicester.

• Department of Cardiovascular Sciences

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