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The health service is facing a ‘ticking time bomb’. people suffering from heart failurewith diagnosed cases expected to double by 2040, medical experts have warned.
British Heart Failure Society (BSH) warns that there are around 400,000 people in the UK with undiagnosed heart failure. He warns that there is an urgent need for a national initiative to detect these cases or NHS services will be overwhelmed in the coming years.
Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to properly pump blood around the body. It is a long-term condition that cannot be cured, but early diagnosis and treatment can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death. Treatments include drugs to improve heart function and surgery, implantation of a pacemaker to control heart rate, or heart surgery to improve blood flow.
About 80% of heart failure patients are diagnosed after an emergency hospital admission. About one in 10 die in hospital and about a third who are discharged will die within a year. Doctors say patients are not being diagnosed effectively in the community.
Lynn Mackay-Thomas, chief executive of BSH, said: “We face a tsunami of hospital admissions if we do not systematically identify those with heart failure early or at the highest risk of developing heart failure.
“It’s a ticking time bomb. A national, sustainable and centrally commissioned program to find people before they become acutely ill can help change this trajectory. We have the knowledge and the treatments to transform people’s lives and prevent many avoidable deaths.”
Report of Hello A Foundation publication in July 2023 on projected disease patterns in England reported that the number of heart failure cases in England is expected to rise by 92% between 2019 and 2040. This compares with a projected increase of 31 % for cancer and a 45% increase for dementia.
Data is being analyzed from GP surgeries in a pilot project supported by clinicians and the BSH to identify those at risk of heart failure who have not yet been diagnosed. Report published this month in British Journal of Cardiology says there is currently a missed opportunity for earlier diagnosis.
Abudullah Arshad, 28, a civil engineer from Chigwell, London, was diagnosed with heart failure in June 2018 after experiencing severe palpitations. He said: “I would do some exercise and I could see my heart pumping through my shirt because it was pumping so fast.”
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Arshad said he made multiple visits to a medical center and a hospital emergency room before he was finally diagnosed during a visit to another hospital.
He said: “As soon as I was diagnosed I was bedridden. I was told that if I did anything, I could drop dead of cardiac arrest.
“I was shocked by what happened. How can someone go to the hospital with heart failure and be misdiagnosed? I could die at any moment. I was dangerous not only to myself, but to everyone around me. And it was not taken in many cases.
Arshad is now on medication which has improved his heart function. He married his wife Shazreen in December 2020 and the couple have a 16-month-old son Zahian.
Dr Henry Oluwasefunmi Savage, a consultant cardiologist who specializes in the treatment of heart failure and chairs the BSH’s policy and media committee, said: “We have major national campaigns to raise patient awareness of heart attacks and major national campaigns to stroke patients, but there is no national heart failure campaign.
“It’s a tragedy considering we have the therapies to make people better. Politicians and politicians need to recognize that there is a problem, and it is a problem that will explode. This is not a death sentence.
“When you diagnose earlier and treat people earlier, you see a lot of benefits and you can help people feel better and live longer,” he added.
BSH initiative, 25 by 25, aims to reduce heart failure deaths by 25% over the next 25 years. It says patients who may be suffering from the condition should recognize these key symptoms: struggling to breathe, fatigue and fluid build-up in the body.
An NHS spokesman said: “The National Health Service remains committed to saving thousands more lives from cardiovascular disease by set in the long termand introduced a range of preventative measures to support people to take control of their own health, including weight management programmes, smoking cessation services and high street blood pressure checks, as well as additional testing through GPs to speed up detection of heart disease.
“Improving the detection and control of high-risk conditions such as atrial fibrillation, hypertension and high cholesterol are among the interventions being introduced to keep pace with cardiovascular risks, and thousands more people are now being supported to manage better your condition more effectively than before the pandemic, reducing the likelihood of heart attacks and heart failure.”
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