September 25, 2008 - Head of the Ambrose Bachelor of Science Biology progam, Dr. Carol Gibbons Kroeker is researching the amount of twist in healthly and unhealthy hearts. Her study focuses on cardiac mechanics and blood flow, as they relate to diseases such as pulmonary hypertension and ischemia.  

Her current research has to do with the torsional mechanics of the left ventricle.   Each time the heart contracts, it "twists".    Dr. Gibbons Kroeker describes this action as,"Just like wringing out a washcloth."  This twisting action helps the heart to eject blood and then to refill (making it more efficient).     She has helped design a method of measuring how much the heart twists each beat by using an optical device and by using specialized echocardiography (similar to ultrasound).   

This research reveals that sick hearts - after a heart attack or with heart failure - twist significantly less than normal hearts do and that the twist is delayed.    Thus, these hearts must work much harder to eject the same amount of blood.  

Some of the current experiments are looking at the effects of several drugs and even pacemakers on twist - to see if twist and heart function can be increased without other negative side effects.   This increase would help in the treatment of patients with heart disease.

Dr. Gibbons Kroeker has discovered that decrease in twist is a possible indicator of potential heart problems. 

"We've also measured twist in some patients who complained of general discomfort but didn't exhibit signs of heart attack using the traditional tests", said Dr. Gibbons Kroeker.   "What was interesting is that these patients also had decreased twist.   We're now looking at whether the twist measurement is a good "predictor" of heart function problems.   If it is, we can "measure" heart function by measuring twist."  

She expects it will now be possible to predict those patients most at risk for a heart attack by this very simple and inexpensive procedure.  

"This will allow us to prevent larger heart attacks and ischemia by treating the function problems before it affects the patient's activities", concludes Dr. Gibbons Kroeker. 

Contact: Dr. Carol Gibbons Kroeker
Phone: 403.410.2000 ext. 5910
Email: ckroeker@ambrose.edu