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Showing results for tags 'Medicine - Cardiology'.
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Content ArticleThe Department of Health and Social Care is seeking views and ideas on how to prevent, diagnose, treat and manage the six major groups of health conditions that most affect the population in England. These are: cancers cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes chronic respiratory diseases dementia mental ill health musculoskeletal disorders The views and ideas gathered will inform the priorities and actions in the major conditions strategy. The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 27 June 2023.
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Content Article
Planning pregnancy with aortic disease (leaflet)
Patient_Safety_Learning posted an article in Maternity
Pregnancy in women with aortic disease can be high risk. However, the risk can be reduced with the right care and planning. This leaflet developed by Aortic Dissection Awareness UK & Ireland, provides advice and guidance for women with aortic disease who are planning on having a baby. -
News Article
Call 999 over early heart attack symptoms, urges new NHS campaign
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A life-saving campaign is being launched by the NHS to urge people to learn how to spot signs of a heart attack. The survival rate for heart attack sufferers is seven in 10, rising to nine in 10 for those who have early hospital treatment. The most common sign of a heart attack is chest pain, but other symptoms to look out for include chest, arm, jaw, neck, back and stomach pain, lightheadedness or dizziness, sweating, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, coughing and wheezing. The health service are encouraging anyone experiencing these indicators to call 999. It comes after a poll found found that fewer than half of people knew to dial 999 if they or a loved one experienced the more vague signs of a heart attack. Another priority of the campaign is to teach people how to differentiate between a heart attack and cardiac arrest. According to the health service, there is often no warning and the person quickly loses consciousness when they suffer cardiac arrest. Those experiencing a cardiac arrest will usually die within minutes if they do not receive treatment. It also points out that a heart attack can lead to a cardiac arrest. NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: “Sadly, cardiovascular disease causes a quarter of all deaths across the country and we have identified this as the single biggest area where we can save lives over the next decade. Read full story Source: 13 February 2022 -
News Article
Almost 100,000 could unknowingly have potentially deadly heart valve disease
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Experts have estimated that almost 300,000 people in Britain could have a potentially deadly heart valve disease called aortic stenosis - including almost 100,000 who are unaware they have it. The condition carries a high death rate if left untreated and occurs when the main valve which takes blood from the heart stiffens and narrows. Many people do not know they have the disease and only discover they do when it is too late for treatment. An international team of scientists, including experts from the Universities of Glasgow and Southampton, set out to research the extent of the disease in the UK. Their study, published in the journal Open Heart, estimated that in the UK in 2019 there were 291,448 men and women aged 55 and over with severe aortic stenosis. Of these, an estimated 68 per cent would have symptoms. This means an estimated 92,389 people have the disease and do not know it. The authors went on to estimate that more than 172,000 (59%) who have the disease will “die within five years without proactive management”. They concluded that aortic stenosis is a “common condition” in the UK but warned that “without appropriate detection and intervention, survival prospects are likely to be poor”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 25 January 2022 -
News Article
HeartWare gadget was a ticking time bomb for our daughter
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
At the age of 36, Nola Borcherds could hardly walk ten steps without gasping for breath. A viral infection years earlier had weakened her heart and left her with a constant wheezy chest. Her heart was failing and she needed a new one. No transplant was available, but the next best thing was an implant called HeartWare. Unlike pacemakers, which send an electrical pulse to keep it beating regularly, the device would attach to Nola’s heart and keep her alive by taking over its function, continuously pumping blood around the body. Brochures promised the gadget could be life changing. It was smaller, safer and more effective than others, and designed to last up to ten years, raising her chance of a transplant. When Nola’s pump was implanted in December 2018 it made a tremendous difference. “Two to three months after she had it fitted, she could virtually run up the stairs,” her mother, Jenny Kiddie said. But on 21 May 2021, two and a half years after the device went in, it stopped working. Doctors at Harefield Hospital in Hillingdon, west London, were carrying out maintenance when it failed to turn back on, cutting the supply of blood to her brain. “The hospital called and said, ‘Nola’s become very unwell. How quickly can you get here?’” her mother said. “By the time we arrived, she was already in the morgue.” What her family believe Nola did not know, and what the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), failed to react to, was that HeartWare pumps had already been linked to hundreds of deaths globally. As early as 2011 some doctors switched to alternatives. Yet the UK regulator allowed them to stay on the market — and they continued to be implanted on the NHS until last year. Some patients are still living with the pieces of equipment, because surgery to remove them is so risky. Families, medical experts and lawyers want to know why the MHRA failed to take firm action despite repeated warnings about the devices, which they believe could have contributed to patients dying. By Nola’s death last year, the health regulator had passed on at least 16 safety alerts to doctors warning of problems identified by the manufacturer. Read full story Source: The Sunday Times, 23 January 2022 -
News Article
NHS drug pledge broken for asthma sufferers and smokers, report reveals
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A promise to ensure that people with severe asthma and smokers who want to quit can get the drugs they need has been broken by ministers and the NHS, a health service report reveals. Health charities criticised the persistent lack of access to vital medications for patients in England as very worrying and warned that it could damage the health of those affected. In 2019 the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and makers of branded medicines signed an agreement, called the voluntary scheme, to increase the number of patients able to obtain cost-effective medicines on the NHS. It covered five key areas of disease in which receipt of drugs would result in “high health gain”. These were cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, stopping smoking by using the drug varenicline, hepatitis C and atrial fibrillation and thromboembolism. However, a report which NHS England commissioned – but has not published – shows that while the target has been met for cystic fibrosis and hepatitis C, it has been missed for severe asthma and smokers seeking to quit using varenicline. It compares England’s progress against that in 10 other European countries, including France, Spain and Italy. “It’s deeply concerning that England languishes near the bottom of the league table for uptake of biologic treatments for severe asthma, the deadliest form of the condition,” said Alison Cook, the director of external affairs at Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 December 2021 -
News Article
Cardiac arrest: Thousands of defibrillators unknown to 999 service
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Tens of thousands of defibrillators across the UK risk being unusable because 999 call handlers do not know about them. When someone has a cardiac arrest, ambulance staff can only direct bystanders to the nearest defibrillator if it is on a central register. "That could be the difference between life and death," said Adam Fletcher, head of British Heart Foundation Cymru. A campaign to register defibrillators on The Circuit has now been launched. Survival rates are low in the more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year in the UK, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) - with fewer than one in 10 people surviving. BHF said early CPR and defibrillation could double the chances of surviving and it was often down to 999 call handlers being aware that a defibrillator was nearby. "If we don't know a defibrillator is there, we can't send somebody to get it, to potentially save somebody's life," said Carl Powell, the clinical support lead for cardiac care with the Welsh Ambulance Service. Read full story Source: BBC News, 22 October 2021 -
News ArticleMore than a quarter of a million patients living with heart failure could be eligible for a new drug that reduces deaths and hospitalisation after medical regulators gave it the greenlight. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has approved dapagliflozin, made by AstraZeneca, for use on the NHS. It can help treat patients with a form of chronic heart failure that means their blood does not pump blood out to the body as well as it should. It is estimated almost one million people are living with heart failure in the UK which causes an estimated 65,000 unplanned hospital admissions a year. Around half of patients will die within five years of being diagnosed. Evidence from a clinical trial shows that adding dapagliflozin to standard care lowers the risk of dying from heart disease and decreases hospitalisation or an urgent outpatient visit because of heart failure by 26% compared with standard care alone. Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 December 2020
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News Article
Long Covid: the evidence of lingering heart damage
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Melissa Vanier, a 52-year-old postal worker from Vancouver, had just returned from holiday in Cuba when she fell seriously ill with COVID-19. “For the entire month of March I felt like I had broken glass in my throat,” she says, describing a range of symptoms that included fever, migraines, extreme fatigue, memory loss and brain fog. “I had to sleep on my stomach because otherwise it felt like someone was strangling me.” By the third week of March, Vanier had tested negative for Sars-CoV-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19. But although the virus had left her body, this would prove to be just the beginning of her problems. In May, she noticed from her Fitbit that her heart rate appeared to be highly abnormal. When cardiologists conducted a nuclear stress test – a diagnostic tool that measures the blood flow to the heart – it showed she had ischaemic heart disease, meaning that the heart was not getting sufficient blood and oxygen. Similar stories illustrate a wider trend – that the coronavirus can leave patients with lasting heart damage long after the initial symptoms have dissipated. Cardiologists are still trying to find out exactly why some people are left with enduring heart problems despite having had an apparently mild bout of COVID-19. The underlying mechanisms are thought to be slow and subtle changes that are quite different to those that put strain on the heart during the acute illness, especially in patients who have been hospitalised with the disease. Some cardiologists have suggested that treatments such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin or beta blockers may help patients with lingering cardiovascular effects many weeks or months after the initial infection, but the evidence remains limited. “It is too early to share data on this,” says Mitrani. “But these therapies have proven efficacy in other inflammatory heart muscle diseases. They have anti-inflammatory effects and we believe may help counter some of the lingering pro-inflammatory effects from Covid-19.” But for patients such as Vanier, there remains a long and uncertain road to see whether her heart does fully recover from the impact of the virus. “Psychologically this has been brutal,” she says. “I haven’t been back to work since I went on holiday in February. The heart hasn’t improved, and I now have to wait for more tests to see if they can find out more.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 October 2020 -
News Article
NHS introduces 3D heart scans to diagnose patients in 20 minutes
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Patients with life-threatening coronary heart disease will be treated five times faster thanks to 3D scans being introduced on the NHS that allow for a diagnosis in just 20 minutes. The revolutionary technology can turn a regular CT scan of the heart into a 3D image, allowing doctors to diagnose them rapidly, NHS England said. It added that about 100,000 people will be eligible to use the HeartFlow technology over the next three years. Patients – who would previously have had to undergo an invasive and time-consuming angiogram in hospital – will now be seen, diagnosed and treated around five times faster. The new technology, introduced from last month, is part of the NHS long-term plan to cut the number of heart attacks and strokes by 150,000. NHS England said more people here will have access to the potentially life-saving technology than anywhere else in Europe, the US or Japan. Matt Whitty, director of innovation and life sciences for NHS England, said HeartFlow had been a “huge success” in clinical trials and would now help “tens of thousands of people a year receive quick diagnosis and treatment and ultimately save lives”. Read full story Source: The Guardian. 4 May 2021 -
News ArticleFor the first time, a new linked health data resource covering 54.4 million people – over 96% of the English population – is now available for researchers from across the UK to collaborate in NHS Digital’s secure research environment. This resource will enable vital research to take place into COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease, with the aim of improving treatments and care for patients. This work has been led by the CVD-COVID-UK consortium in partnership with NHS Digital. The new resource links health data from GP records, hospital data, death records, COVID-19 laboratory test data and data on medications dispensed from pharmacies, and is accessible to CVD-COVID-UK consortium researchers in NHS Digital’s Trusted Research Environment (TRE) Service for England. The CVD-COVID-UK consortium is a collaborative group of more than 130 members across 40 institutions working to understand the relationship between COVID-19 and cardiovascular diseases. The consortium is managed by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Data Science Centre, led by Health Data Research UK. The ability to link different types of health data from almost the entire population of England provides a more complete and accurate picture of the impact of COVID-19 on patients with diseases of the heart and circulation than has been possible before now. It will also provide the data to understand whether patients with COVID-19 are more likely to go on to develop diseases of the heart and circulation, such as heart attack and stroke. Read full story Source: HDRUK, 24 February 2021
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News Article
Life-saving cholesterol jab recommended on NHS
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
An expensive anti-cholesterol drug called inclisiran could soon be offered to hundreds of thousands of people in England and Wales on the NHS. The drug, which would be administered as a twice-a-year injection, costs around £2,000 per dose, could save about 30,000 lives within a decade. "Inclisiran represents a potential game-changer in preventing thousands of people from dying prematurely from heart attacks and strokes. We're therefore pleased to be able to recommend it as a cost effective option on the NHS." Said Meindert Boysen, NICE deputy chief executive and director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 01 September 2021 -
News Article
Inappropriate anticoagulation of patients with a mechanical heart valve
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
NHS England have issued a safety alert on the risk of inappropriate anticoagulation of patients with a mechanical heart valve. Published guidance supported clinical teams in reviewing patients being treated with a vitamin K antagonist (VKA) early on in the pandemic and change their medication to an alternative anticoagulant where needed. However, there have been reports that those with a mechanical heart valve have been prescribed a molecular weight heparin (LMWH) or a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) which the guidance lists as an exception to its use in such patients. The alert asks GPs and other NHS providers to urgently identify patients with a mechanical heart valve and ensure they are on the most appropriate anticoagulant. Read full story. Source: NHS England, 14 July 2021 -
EventuntilCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the UK, yet is largely preventable. It is the single biggest area where the NHS can save lives over the next decade, and as such, is a core priority in the NHS Long Term Plan. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, came an acceleration in adoption of technology as a tool within the NHS - both in clinic and in community - to enhance patient outcomes and professional pathways. These available technologies have a significant role to play, both broadly in alignment with the NHS LTP and also more specifically in the quest to close the atrial fibrillation detection gap. This webinar will highlight the technologies available to the NHS for ambulatory monitoring of CVD and also showcase recent NICE recommendation of the first and only personal ECG to achieve such status. Speaking on this topic will be Trudie Lobban, CEO and Founder of the Arrhythmia Alliance, and Dr Matt Reed, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Edinburgh. Register
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EventA recent report published by the BMJ found that many doctors have difficulty in DNACPR discussions. Chaired by Davina Hehir Director of Policy & Legal Strategy Compassion in Dying, conference will focus on the important issue of effective person centred practice in CPR decisions and communication. By attending you will have the opportunity to hear from Rosie Benneyworth Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care Care Quality Commission who will discuss what we've learnt from the pandemic, including: the rapid review of how cardiopulmonary resuscitation decisions were used during the coronavirus pandemic; improving involvement of people using services, record keeping, and oversight and scrutiny of the decisions being made. Register 20% Discount now available with code HCUK20CPR when booking
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EventuntilCardiovascular disease (CVD) has become a significant long-term focus for the NHS. Given that CVD is largely preventable it is the single biggest area where the NHS can save lives over the next decade. By embracing digital technology, we can continue to close the gap in identifying people who are living undetected with high-risk conditions, such as Atrial Fibrillation. Chaired by Helen Williams - National Specialty Adviser for CVD Prevention at NHS England & Improvement, this webinar will highlight new approaches that show how the adoption of innovative ECG technology in both Primary Care investigations and Secondary Care detection and palpitation monitoring can improve efficacy and provide cost savings to the NHS and social care. Register
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EventuntilJoin BD this live educational event designed to promote discussions on the following topics: An overview of the latest evidence-based prevention measures of HAI (SSI). Essential bundles of an effective infection prevention and control program management in cardiac surgery. Review of the sustainable change in practice within operating room. The event is designed for cardiac surgeons, infection control and nurses who are interested in learning more about new techniques and methodologies to minimise some of the most challenging post-operative complications, with an opportunity to debate and share opinions with peers through live discussions with internationally renowned faculty. Register
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EventuntilThis webinar will focus on contemporary tools to detect and diagnose atrial fibrillation (AF), both during and beyond the COVID19 pandemic, and provide a platform to learn from examples of best practice in this area. After watching this webinar, participants will be able to: Understand the current evidence for AF case-finding. Know what technology is available to enhance detection and diagnosis. Be able to identify AF on an ECG. Register
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Content ArticleAn analysis of data from nearly 154 000 US veterans with SARS-CoV-2 infection provides a grim preliminary answer to the question: What are COVID-19’s long-term cardiovascular outcomes? The study, published in Nature Medicine by researchers at the Veterans Affairs (VA) St Louis Health Care System, found that in the year after recovering from the illness’s acute phase, patients had increased risks of an array of cardiovascular problems, including abnormal heart rhythms, heart muscle inflammation, blood clots, strokes, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. What’s more, the heightened risks were evident even among those who weren’t hospitalised with acute COVID-19.
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Content ArticleThis article in the Daily Mail looks at the link between mild Covid infection, heart disease and other circulatory issues. The article describes the experience of TV doctor Xand van Tulleken, who suffered from recurrent atrial fibrillation after catching Covid-19 in March 2020. It then looks at the cardiovascular symptoms being reported by people with Long Covid, and highlights different research studies around the world which are establishing a link between Covid infection and cardiovascular problems.
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Content ArticleWomen are 50% more likely to receive a wrong initial diagnosis; when they are having a heart attack, such mistakes can be fatal. People who are initially misdiagnosed have a 70% higher risk of dying. The latest studies have similarly shown that women have worse outcomes for heart operations such as valve replacements and peripheral revascularisation. As well as being misdiagnosed, women are less likely to be treated quickly, less likely to get the best surgical treatment and less likely to be discharged with the optimum set of drugs. None of this is excusable, but is it understandable? What is behind this bias and how can how it be fixed? Sian Harding, emeritus professor of cardiac pharmacology at Imperial College London, looks at the evidence in this Guardian article. Related reading Dangerous exclusions: The risk to patient safety of sex and gender bias Gender bias: A threat to women’s health Medicines, research and female hormones: a dangerous knowledge gap
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Content ArticleThis report by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) examines the quality of care provided to patients aged 16 years and over who were admitted to hospital following an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The report is based on the findings of a study that looked at the clinical care delivered to patients from the time of an OHCA to discharge from hospital or death. The review of the clinical pathway included the community and emergency service response, hospital admission and inpatient care (in particular cardiac and critical care services). Data were also collected to assess organisational aspects of care within acute hospitals.
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Content ArticleThis National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) report reviews the quality of care of patients aged 16 and over who had a pulmonary embolism (PE), The study aimed to highlight areas where care could be improved in patients with a new diagnosis of acute PE. A retrospective case note and questionnaire review was undertaken in 526 patients aged 16 and over who had a PE, and who either presented to hospital or developed a PE whilst an inpatient for another condition. You can view and download the following documents: Full report Summary report Summary sheet Recommendation checklist Infographic Slide set Commissioners' guide Fishbone diagram Audit toolkit YouTube video: Know the Score
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Content ArticleDecision support tools, also called patient decision aids, support shared decision making by making treatment, care and support options explicit. They provide evidence-based information about the associated benefits/harms and help patients to consider what matters most to them in relation to the possible outcomes, including doing nothing. NHS England has just published a suite of eight decision support tools that will help people with their healthcare professionals in clinical consultations, about their treatment choices for their condition through shared decision making. NHS England has worked with patients, patient charities health professionals and research teams over several months to develop the tools in line with NICE guidance on shared decision making standards.
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Content ArticleCOVID-19 has been associated with new-onset cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes mellitus (DM), but it is not known whether COVID-19 has long-term impacts on cardiometabolic outcomes. This study from Rezell-Potts et al. aimed to determine whether the incidence of new DM and CVDs are increased over 12 months after COVID-19 compared with matched controls. The study found that CVD was increased early after COVID-19 mainly from pulmonary embolism, atrial arrhythmias, and venous thromboses. DM incidence remained elevated for at least 12 weeks following COVID-19 before declining. People without preexisting CVD or DM who suffer from COVID-19 do not appear to have a long-term increase in incidence of these conditions.
