Top 10 priority research questions for adult heart surgery
| Ranking | Question |
| 1 | How does a patient quality of life (QOL) change (eg, disability-free survival) following heart surgery and what factors are associated with this? |
| 2 | How can we address frailty and improve the management of frail patients in heart surgery? |
| 3 | How can we improve the outcomes of heart surgery patients with chronic conditions (obesity, diabetes, hypertension, renal failure, autoimmune diseases, and so on)? |
| 4 | Does prehabilitation (a programme of nutritional, exercise and psychological interventions before surgery) benefit heart surgery patients? |
| 5 | When should heart valve intervention occur for patients without symptoms? |
| 6 | How does minimally invasive heart surgery compare to traditional open surgery? |
| 7 | How do we minimise damage to organs from heart-lung machine/heart surgery (heart, kidney, lung, brain and gut)? |
| 8 | Can we use 3D bioprinting or stem cell technology to create living tissues (heart valves/heart) and repair failing hearts (myocardial regeneration)? |
| 9 | What are the most effective ways of preventing and treating postoperative atrial fibrillation? |
| 10 | How do we reduce and manage infections after heart surgery including surgical site/sternal wound infection and pneumonia? |