Researchers from Göttingen University Medical Center (UMG) and Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) have collaborated under the leadership of MBExC member Prof. Dr. Niels Voigt, Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at UMG, and Dr. Dr. Stefan Kallenberger, Head of the Systems Medicine Working Group at the BioQuant Centre at Heidelberg University, to find a new way to more accurately predict the risk of dangerous cardiac arrhythmias after heart surgery.
In collaboration with national and international university partners, the researchers demonstrated that patients at high risk of developing atrial fibrillation after surgery can be identified much more reliably if measurements of calcium movements in heart muscle cells are taken into account alongside known clinical risk factors such as age or pre-existing conditions. After all, calcium plays a crucial role in the heart’s pumping function, providing the mechanical movement that enables the heart muscle to contract and pump blood around the body. These calcium movements can be determined directly during surgery. If an increased risk of postoperative atrial fibrillation is identified, preventive measures can be taken.
You can find the press release (in German) here.
Dr. Stefan Kallenberger, BioQuant Center at Heidelberg University, Dr. Judith Gronwald, Department of Cardiology and Pneumology at UMG, and Dr. Funsho E. Fakuade, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at UMG, and Prof. Dr. Niels Voigt, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at UMG (from left to right). Photo: umg/eva meyer-besting
