Post–heart attack fat in the heart and risky heart rhythms
Official title: LONGITUDINAL ASSOCIATION OF POST-INFARCT LIPOMATOUS METAPLASIA AND MALIGNANT ARRHYTHMIA
Funded at University of Pennsylvania · NIH-11159658 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether fat that forms inside the heart after a heart attack is linked to dangerous ventricular rhythms in people who have had a myocardial infarction.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pennsylvania NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $751,394 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL171709-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11159658 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with a prior myocardial infarction, especially those with a history of ventricular tachycardia or who are undergoing cardiac imaging or electrophysiology evaluation, would be the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without a prior heart attack or those whose arrhythmias come from non‑infarct causes are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
If you've had a heart attack, researchers will follow people over time to see how fat replaces damaged heart tissue and whether that change is tied to dangerous rhythms. They will use heart imaging (like cardiac MRI or CT), ECG monitoring, clinical records, and in some cases detailed heart mapping done during procedures to map where fat and scar are located. The team will compare who develops ventricular tachycardia or other malignant arrhythmias to who does not, and study how reperfusion and healing relate to fat formation. The work combines patient scans and follow-up with supporting animal and lab studies to understand the underlying electrical changes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify patients at higher risk of life‑threatening arrhythmias and guide more precise monitoring or treatments such as ablation or ICD placement.
How similar studies have gone: Animal experiments and prior observational human work have suggested a link between post‑infarct fat and ventricular tachycardia, but long‑term human studies tying lipomatous metaplasia to future malignant arrhythmias remain limited.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nazarian, Saman — University of Pennsylvania
- Study coordinator: Nazarian, Saman
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding how heart nerves affect dangerous heart rhythms after a heart attack
This NIH grant studies how changes in the heart’s nerve signaling after a heart attack lead to dangerous rhythm problems, with the goal of finding ways to prevent them.
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Dexterous needle ablation for ventricular arrhythmia guided by MRI
A new MRI-guided, robot-assisted catheter delivers deeper heart tissue ablation to treat ventricular tachycardia.
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Sex-specific heart cell signaling and rhythm problems linked to a heart failure drug target
A study from UCLA aims to understand how a key heart signaling pathway controls heart beating and rhythm differently in men and women with heart failure.
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Additive-made wearable magnetic sensors for heart monitoring with AI
A wearable system using affordable, 3D-printed sensors and machine learning to help detect heart rhythm problems in people.
-
Understanding fat deposits after heart attack and their link to dangerous heart rhythms
A Penn Medicine team is studying how fat buildup in the heart after a heart attack may influence dangerous heart rhythms and recovery.
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Developing 3D Real-Time CMR for Arrhythmia Imaging
Aims to make real-time 3D heart MRI usable for people with irregular heartbeats to improve how doctors see arrhythmias.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.