Optical Coherence Tomography in Acute Vessel Evaluation (OCTAVE)

Research summary

Heart attacks and other forms of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) occur when blood flow to the heart is suddenly blocked by a blood clot or a narrowed artery. These events remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The standard treatment is percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) — a minimally invasive procedure where a small metal tube, called a stent, is placed to keep the artery open. Traditionally, doctors rely on X-ray images (angiography) to guide stent placement. However, these images often lack detail, especially in emergency situations, making it difficult to see exactly what caused the blockage or whether the stent is perfectly positioned. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a modern light-based imaging technique that provides much sharper pictures from inside the artery, allowing doctors to identify clots, plaque ruptures, or other hidden problems in great detail. The OCTAVE study investigates whether using OCT routinely during PCI for patients with heart attacks can improve outcomes compared with standard angiography alone. The study will include 3,000 patients with heart attacks (STEMI and NSTEMI) across about 50 hospitals in 13 European countries. Participants are randomly assigned to receive either OCT-guided or standard angiography-guided treatment. All patients receive the best available medical therapy, and their health will be followed for up to 10 years. The main goal is to see if OCT-guided treatment reduces the risk of death, new heart attack, or stroke within one year. OCTAVE is an academic, non-commercial project led by Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, and aims to provide evidence for better, safer treatment of patients with acute heart disease.

Principal Investigator

Dr Giovanni Luigi De Maria

Contact us

Email: oxfordheartresearch@ouh.nhs.uk

IRAS number

364727