B3613 - Deep phenotyping of cardiovascular systems physiology in adults born to hypertensive pregnancies - 10/09/2020

B number: 
B3613
Principal applicant name: 
Adam Lewandowski | University of Oxford (RDM Cardiovascular Medicine) (United Kingdom)
Co-applicants: 
Title of project: 
Deep phenotyping of cardiovascular systems physiology in adults born to hypertensive pregnancies
Proposal summary: 

New-onset hypertension during pregnancy occurs in up to 10% of women. People born to pregnancies complicated by hypertension (i.e. gestational hypertension and preeclampsia) are at increased risk for cardiovascular disorders, including hypertension and stroke, in later life. The underlying disease process is identifiable in the first decades of life with evidence of emerging damage to their hearts and blood vessels. Phenotypic changes that have been observed in early postnatal life and as they reach young adulthood include higher blood pressure, altered heart structure and function, as well as a reduced number, size, and function of small blood vessels. However, to date, longitudinal data in the same individuals, as well as a multi-systems, deep phenotyping approach to characterizing cardiovascular physiology in offspring of hypertensive pregnancies, remains limited. By using ALSPAC, we will be able to make use of the previously collected demographic, anthropometric, and phenotypic data collected. We will also design a new study in 200 young adults, of which 100 will be born to hypertensive pregnancies and 100 born to normotensive pregnancies. These participants will be invited by the ALSPAC team to travel to Oxford for a 3 hour study visit, including blood sample collection, exercise stress testing, blood pressure and imaging of the small blood vessels in the eye, brain MRI, as well heart scans using both MRI and echocardiography at rest and during exercise. By studying and tracking changes both temporally and spatially across multiple organs, we will be able to better describe and quantify the multi-dimensional landscape of hypertensive disease progression.

Impact of research: 
Our ultimate goal is to be able to better characterise temporal trends in disease progression in people born to hypertensive pregnancy, and to then translate this to the development of clinical tools, for application at scale.
Date proposal received: 
Tuesday, 8 September, 2020
Date proposal approved: 
Wednesday, 9 September, 2020
Keywords: 
Clinical research/clinical practice, Hypertension, Medical imaging, Birth outcomes