Girl wearing cat ears, relaxing on the grass with a book. Image for the Good Friday Appeals Cardiology Research by Alex Coppel

Cardiology Research

Helping to ensure a brighter future for children with cardiac conditions.

Thanks to support from the Good Friday Appeal, researchers at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) are helping to ensure a brighter future for children with cardiac conditions.

Associate Professor Jonathan Mynard is a bioengineer and cardiovascular researcher at the MCRI, specialising in paediatric hypertension, medical devices, cardiovascular modelling, blood pressure and flow dynamics (haemodynamics), and congenital heart disease. Jonathan’s current research project is looking at the difference in blood pressure measurements between a child’s arms, and the impact this may have on a child’s diagnosis. It is the first study worldwide to determine the size and frequency of inter-arm blood pressure differences in children and adolescents.

Initial findings revealed that even a small difference in blood pressure measurements between one arm and the other could lead to a wrong diagnosis. “Children with high blood pressure, many of whom appear to be healthy, have a greater risk of developing hypertension in adulthood, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” said Jonathan.

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