NIHR Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit

The NIHR Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit (BRU) at the University Hospitals of Leicester and the University of Leicester is part of a multi-million pound scheme to prevent, diagnose and treat ill-health. Originally it was one of 16 BRUs around England funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), a strategic research funding body within the NHS.

The NIHR Leicester Cardiovascular BRU is specifically aimed at improving the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of coronary heart disease and hypertension (high blood pressure). It provides an infrastructure – people, space and equipment – which allows researchers to complete challenging or complex projects in these conditions.

In addition, the BRU hosts a dedicated research database, the first of its kind in the UK, which is linked to a collection of blood samples from patient volunteers who have made their medical records available to researchers.