CONNECT-AF: Cross-TRE Network for Evaluating Clinical Outcomes and National Trends in Embolic Complications of Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) affects more than 1.5 million people in the UK and is a leading cause of stroke, systemic embolism and transient ischaemic attack. Despite advances in prevention and treatment, outcomes vary significantly between regions, reflecting differences in healthcare services, prescribing patterns, deprivation and care pathways.

CONNECT-AF aims to better understand these variations by enabling secure cross-TRE analysis of outcomes associated with AF. The project connects the SAIL Databank, the East of England Secure Data Environment, and the Dementias Platform UK TRE through a federated analysis framework. Data will remain securely within each environment, while harmonised analysis pipelines allow results to be combined at an aggregate level.

Building on earlier work to define national atrial fibrillation cohorts and harmonise data structures, the project will demonstrate how federated cardiovascular research can operate at scale. It will also evaluate governance processes and technical readiness for cross-TRE collaboration.

Public and patient involvement is embedded throughout the project. Patient representatives will contribute to governance design, transparency materials and interpretation of findings. Engagement activities will focus on explaining how federated research protects privacy while enabling national learning to improve cardiovascular care.

By the end of the project, CONNECT-AF will:

• Establish a working federated analysis framework linking three UK TREs
• Develop harmonised atrial fibrillation cohorts and containerised analytical pipelines
• Produce a comparative analysis of stroke and embolic outcomes across regions
• Evaluate technical and governance readiness for federated TRE adoption
• Deliver public-facing materials explaining federated cardiovascular research for AF

Project information

Lead organisation: Swansea University
Principal investigator: Fatemeh Torabi
Project duration: 12 months
Project partners: SAIL Databank, Eastern England Secure Data Environment, Dementias Platform UK (DPUK)
Funding provided: £293,773
Primary contact email: fatemeh.torabi@swansea.ac.uk