EURECA Imaging Registry

Latest news

Thank you to all the EURECA investigators for having actively enrolled and collected the data from 5.191 patients! 

The baseline data of these patients have been successfully completed, cleaned and locked on 7 October 2020.

The statisticians are now working on the dataset to assess the use of non-invasive cardiac imaging in a large, contemporary population of patients with stable symptoms, potentially caused by underlying CAD.

If you are participating to this registry, please complete the 6-month follow-up section of your patients and make sure you have answered all the queries.

We warmly invite you to come back to this page to check on the latest news of the registry.

Background

Among CV diseases, coronary artery disease (CAD) is the single most common cause of health-related death in the EU. Early and accurate diagnosis in patients with symptoms suspected for stable CAD is deemed to be crucial to address effective treatment, to improve patient health status and ultimately to reduce the burden of disease.

Invasive coronary angiography (ICA) is the current gold standard for establishing the presence, location and severity of CAD, as well as for guiding revascularization procedures. However, the technique is costly, associated with a small intrinsic risk of morbidity and mortality and, may induce an excess of revascularizations with a potential negative impact on sanitary costs and patients outcome.

Significant improvements in non-invasive cardiovascular imaging (CVI) techniques and results from recent comparative effectiveness trials of imaging-guided strategies have driven increased interest to use non invasive CVI more routinely in the diagnostic algorithm for patients with suspected CAD even if inappropriate use may also drive escalating costs and potential risks.

The need for a new registry of CAD management in Europe

The 2013 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines for the management of stable CAD represented an important step forward providing specific recommendations on the use of non invasive imaging based on the best of available knowledge.

To which extent these Guidelines are applied in clinical practice, after 6 years from their release, is not known. In the meantime, new scientific evidence has been accumulated and either national Guidelines have been developed (ie. UK NICE Guidelines) and new ESC Guidelines will be issued in 2019. In current practice, the choice of non-invasive imaging tests in patients with symptoms suspected for stable CAD is also conditioned by multiple factors, such as national regulations, local expertise, preference, costs, test availability, etc.

EURECA Imaging registry is to assess the use of non-invasive cardiac imaging in a large, contemporary population of patients with stable symptoms, potentially caused by underlying CAD. The main purpose is to fill the gap in knowledge of real-world practice in this population. The factors conditioning adherence to Guidelines, local variability in the use of different modalities and possible effects on patient management and health status will be assessed. The results could be useful for the development process of the European Guidelines, and to promote strategies for improving quality of care and more efficient allocation of resources.

Objectives of the Registry

• To assess the ADHERENCE to Guidelines in the use of non-invasive imaging strategies for the management of patients with stable symptoms, potentially caused by underlying CAD.
• Other objectives:
  • Assess the variability in use/quality of different diagnostic techniques/strategies for stable CAD.
  • Assess the impact of population characteristics (prevalence of disease, risk factors, gender, etc.), national guidelines (such as UK GLs), local expertise/preferences or availability of technology, on the choice and performance of diagnostic imaging strategies.
  • Assess the impact of health care system and centre characteristics on adherence to Guidelines.
  • Assess the impact of variable adherence to Guidelines (choice of diagnostic techniques/strategies) on downstream procedures (invasive coronary angiography, revascularizations, hospital admissions, repeated imaging testing).
  • Assess the impact of variable adherence to Guidelines (choice of diagnostic techniques/strategies and treatment) on the total costs and outcomes (patient health status as defined by change in symptoms and in Quality of Life measurements).
  • Assess the impact of guidelines updates (from ESC GLs 2013 to New ESC GLs) on clinical costs, behaviour and patient outcomes.
  • Assess the reliability of current prediction models of stable CAD.

Analyses on:

• Enrolment Visit (enrolment criteria, clinical data, symptoms, medical treatment, QoL).
• Functional Testing: Exercise ECG (test information and results).
• Functional Testing: Non-invasive Stress Imaging (test information and results).
• Non-Invasive CT coronary angiography (test information and results).
• Invasive coronary angiography and revascularization (procedural information and results).
• Management Strategy (Pre-Test-Probability, Tests Used, Treatments).
• Follow-up visit at six months (Events, Hospitalizations, Recurrent Symptoms, Tests, Revascularizations, QoL).

Study Organisation

The study is centre based, with an Executive Committee and Scientific Committee. The two Chairpersons are Danilo Neglia and Victoria Delgado.

Executive Committee

Danilo Neglia (Italy) – Registry Chairperson
Victoria Delgado (The Netherlands) – Registry Chairperson
Alessia Gimelli (Italy)
Bernard Cosyns (Belgium)
Bogdan A. Popescu (Romania)
Chiara Bucciarelli-Ducci (United Kingdom)
Elif Sade (Turkey)
Erwan Donal (France)
Frank Flachskampf (Sweden)
Gilbert Habib (France)
Matteo Cameli (Italy)
Maurizio Galderisi (Italy)
Nuno Cardim (Portugal)
Oliver Gaemperli (Switzerland)
Steffen Petersen (United Kingdom)
Stephan Achenbach (Germany)
Thor Edvardsen (Norway)
Aldo Maggioni (Italy), Scientific Coordinator for EORP

Scientific Committee (Study Advisors)

Alan Fraser (United Kingdom)
Juhani Knuuti (Finland)
Koen Nieman (USA)
Leslee Shaw (USA)
Rocco Friebel (United Kingdom)

Scientific Committee (Members and Country Coordinators)

The Scientific Committee (Members and Country Coordinators)
Ahmed Al Jizeeri and Mouaz Al Mallah (Saudi Arabia, CC)
Antti Saraste (Finland, CC)
Arthur Scholte (The Netherlands, CC)
Bernard Cosyns (Belgium, CC)
Bogdan Popescu (Romania, CC)
Constantinos Anagnostopoulus (Greece, CC)
Daniele Andreini (Italy)
Denisa Muraru and Alesia Gimelli (Italy, CC)
Edyta Plonska-Gosciniak (Poland, CC)
Eliana Reyes (United Kingdom, CC)
Elif Sade (Turkey, CC)
Filipe Macedo (Portugal, CC)
Filipp Paleev (Russia, CC)
Gianluca Pontone, (Italy)
Gilles Barone-Rochette (France, CC)
Henrik Engblom (Sweden, CC)
Jelena Čelutkienė (Lithuania, CC)
Jose’ Zamorano (Spain, CC)
Julien Magne (France)
Krasimira Hristova (Bulgaria, CC)
Kyriakos Yiangou (Cyprus, CC)
Marc Dweck (United Kingdom)
Marcelo Haertel Miglioranza (Brazil, CC)
Marian Gyongyosi and Senta Graf (Austria, CC)
Mikko Pietila (Finland)
Natallia Maroz-Vadalazhskaya (Belarus, CC)
Pal Maurovich-Horvat (Hungary, CC)
Patrizio Lancellotti (Belgium)
Paul Knaapen (The Netherlands)
Philipp Kaufmann (Switzerland)
Riccardo Liga (Italy)
Richard Underwood (United Kingdom)
Ronny Buechel (Switzerland, CC)
Slobodan Dodic (Serbia, CC)
Stephan Achenbach (Germany, CC)
Sven Plein (United Kingdom)
Thor Edvardsen (Norway, CC)
Tomaz Podlesnikar (Slovenia, CC)