Breathe to the Beat

Being at the cutting edge of science is less glamorous than it sounds. Here you can see me taking part in a study to use a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to take images of the heart in ‘real time’, while a person exercises and breathes in air that contains less oxygen than normal. It’s one of the first studies in the world to do this. Understanding how the hearts of healthy people like me compensate to handle this stress could help researchers to develop a more accurate way to diagnose heart conditions. Patients with these conditions say they experience their symptoms while walking around. Most diagnostic tools are simply not designed to provide detailed images of the heart whilst the body is in motion. The researchers, at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, are aiming to develop a more accurate technique by fine-tuning MRI scanning in this unusual study.

Find out more about this study

Marking the start of the MRC CSC's 'Hearts and Minds' theme week, part of the MRC's Festival of Medical Research

Written by Deborah Oakley

Deborah Oakley

Writer

Deborah is researching healthy cognitive ageing at the University of Cambridge. She previously worked as a science communicator in London, working closely with the BPoD team.

• Video by Deborah Oakley and colleagues, MRC CSC
• Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre, London, UK
• Video/image copyright owned by the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre