Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science
Tackling high levels of cardiac disease and helping people live longer, healthier lives
Collaborative research at the heart
The Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science (LCCS) has been formed as a strategic research platform, bringing together world-leading research and clinical specialists in cardiovascular biology and medicine. University of Liverpool, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital Trust, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Health Partners have allied their forces to tackle the stark issue of Cardiovascular health in the North West.
Committed to tackling the issue of cardiac health in the North West and beyond, the LCCS has proposed a series of objectives:
- Build relationships with (public and commercial) stakeholder institutions
- Develop a cadre of research leaders and teams from all relevant disciplines
- Collaborate across the full spectrum of cardiovascular health & disease (public health, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation) and associated disciplines with high co-dependency (renal medicine, diabetes)
- Prioritise the development of applied research capable of rapid translation into clinical practice (bench to bedside) for the immediate benefit of patients and the public
- Harness the power of digital technology to track our progress with achieving our objectives and identify new research opportunities for the future
- Organising public engagement events to increase awareness of the importance of cardiovascular health
Atrial Fibrillation Better Care Pathway (ABC)
Professor Gregory Lip discusses the effective Atrial Fibrillation Better Care Pathway (ABC) and how it can be utilised to detect and recude the risk of cardiac illness
Basic science, translational, applied physiology and sports sciences
This cross-cutting, dynamic theme brings together colleagues in basic science and clinical medicine.
It promotes the integration of a full range of expertise from laboratory to clinical research, allowing the translational aspects of cardiovascular medicine to be fully realised. In addition, we have strengths in precision medicine, with insights from proteomics and genomics, as well as the discovery of novel biomarkers.
The latter would aid insights into pathophysiology and risk stratification, and provide surrogate markers of clinical outcomes when testing early interventions.
Epidemiology and big data
We systematically extract and analyse large data sets from epidemiological studies to answer important health questions.
This approach will enable us to identify trends, risk factors, and outcomes in cardiovascular medicine, from which the information obtained may be used to support healthcare initiatives and patient education.
We will be able to provide a global overview by utilising data sets from the UK, and our existing collaborators and academic links in other parts of the world such as the United States, Denmark, Korea, China, Taiwan and Japan.
Treatments, patient centred approaches and cardiovascular nursing
We are committed to developing new personalised treatments and pathways that can be utilised in treating cardiovascular disease and similar conditions. This is aimed at improving patient outcomes, and bridging the gap between primary, secondary and tertiary care systems.
At the LCCS, the focus is on patient-centred research, with qualitative approaches to help understand patient values and preferences. We hope that our results will be applicable to a range of individuals including nurses and allied healthcare professionals. It may be used to support clinical treatments and counselling interventions to improve outcomes and patient satisfaction.
Applied health research – prevention, primary care, public health, health economics and global health
This area of research is targeted at identifying risk factors that may have an impact on incident cardiovascular diseases. These have led to the development of impact modelling and public health initiatives, including addressing cardiovascular inequalities.
Our interests within applied health have included health economics, modelling, and outcomes research to investigate the impact on health services in the UK and globally.