Dr Riley Batchelor is a fellow in interventional cardiology at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and The Alfred Hospital and is a PhD candidate at Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. An early career clinician researcher, Dr Batchelor's research explores the management of cardiac emergencies, including acute coronary syndrome, cardiogenic shock, and extends to extracorporeal life support and advanced heart failure.
In cardiovascular medicine, we’re extremely fortunate to have a variety of highly impactful medications and minimally invasive treatments that are available. These interventions result in substantial reductions in cardiovascular mortality and improvements in quality of life in patients with acute and chronic heart disease.
Despite this, and rapid advancements in our understanding of treatment technologies, cardiogenic shock remains a devastating condition for patients and their families, with mortality rates at 30 days as high as 50%.
Cardiogenic shock is a life threatening condition characterised by inadequate cardiac output, leading to organ hypoperfusion and hypoxia. While acute myocardial infarction is the most common cause, arrhythmias, valve disease, and pulmonary embolism can also precipitate cardiogenic shock.
Our research seeks to bridge the gaps in our understanding of this complex syndrome and to identify ways to improve patient outcomes.
We will address key gaps in cardiogenic shock care by leveraging existing cardiac registries in Australia to create a comprehensive dataset that captures the full spectrum of patient demographics, clinical presentation, treatment strategies, and outcomes. It will also lay the groundwork for the development of Australia’s first prospective cardiogenic shock registry. A significant aspect of this research involves linking multiple large scale registries which provide critical, yet often siloed, data on different aspects of cardiogenic shock care. By integrating these datasets, we can gain a more holistic understanding of the patient journey from pre hospital care to long term outcomes.
Throughout my clinical training as a cardiologist, I have had the privilege of managing many patients with heart disease at high volume quaternary metropolitan hospitals, but also in the resource limited setting.
Cardiogenic shock is a time critical emergency, yet gold standard care throughout Australasia varies.
We know that women, First Nations people, rural populations, and socioeconomically disadvantaged patients are less likely to receive timely interventions in cardiology, but we don't yet know how this extends to cardiogenic shock, or how we may improve it. This research aims to explore these disparities to better understand the barriers to optimal care and identify strategies for more equitable healthcare delivery.
Ultimately, I hope this research will inform clinical practice and contribute to the development of standardised protocols for cardiogenic shock management in Australia.
Establishing a national dataset will not only facilitate ongoing data collection and quality improvement but will also provide a foundation for future interventional studies aimed at reducing mortality and improving long term patient outcomes.
I am honoured to receive this award alongside funding from the NHMRC in recognition of the valuable work being undertaken by a fantastic team of people and mentors, including Professor Dion Stub, Professor Andrew Taylor and Associate Professor Jeffrey Lefkovits.