The healthcare system is facing a “ticking time bomb” over people suffering from heart failure, with diagnosed cases expected to almost double by 2040, medical experts have warned.
The British Heart Failure Association (BSH) warns that there are an estimated 400,000 people in the UK with undiagnosed heart failure. It warns that there is an urgent need for a national initiative to track these cases, otherwise NHS services will be overwhelmed in the coming years.
Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot pump blood properly through the body. It is a long-term condition that has no cure, but early diagnosis and treatment can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death. Treatments include medications to improve heart function and surgery, implanting a pacemaker to control the heart rate or heart surgery to improve blood flow.
About 80% of patients with heart failure are diagnosed after an emergency admission to hospital. About one in ten die in hospital and about a third who are discharged die within a year. Doctors say patients in the community are not being diagnosed effectively.
Lynn Mackay-Thomas, CEO of the BSH, said: “We are facing a tsunami of hospital admissions if we do not systematically find people with heart failure early or at greatest 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 could help change this trajectory. We have the knowledge and treatments to transform people’s lives and prevent many avoidable deaths.”
A Health Foundation report published in July 2023 on expected disease patterns in England reported that the number of heart failure cases in England was expected to increase by 92% between 2019 and 2040. This compared to an expected increase of 31% for cancer and a 45% increase for dementia.
Data from GP practices is being analyzed in a pilot project supported by doctors and the BSH to identify people at risk of heart failure who have not yet been diagnosed. A report published this month in the British Journal of Cardiology says there is currently a missed opportunity for an 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 was doing a bit of exercise and I could see my heart pumping through my shirt because it was beating so fast.”
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Arshad said he repeatedly visited a medical center and a hospital emergency department before finally being 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 die in cardiac arrest.
“I was shocked by what happened. How can someone with heart failure go to the hospital and be misdiagnosed? I could have died at any moment. I was a danger not only to myself, but to everyone around me. And it wasn’t noticed very often.”
Arshad is now taking medications that have improved his heart function. He married his wife Shazreen in December 2020 and the couple has a 16-month-old son, Zahian.
Dr. Henry Oluwasefunmi Savage, a cardiologist who specializes in the treatment of heart failure and chairs the BSH Policy and Media Committee, said: “We have major national campaigns to raise patient awareness about heart attacks and major national campaigns for patients with heart attacks stroke, but there is no national campaign for heart failure.
“It’s a tragedy to think that we have the therapies to make people better. Politicians and policymakers must recognize that there is a problem and that it will explode. This is not a death sentence.
“If 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.
A BSH initiative, 25in25, 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: fighting to breathe, fatigue and the build-up of fluid in the body.
An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS remains committed to saving thousands more lives from cardiovascular disease, as set out in the Long Term Plan, and has introduced a range of preventive measures to support people take back control of their own health including weight management programmes, smoking cessation services and high street blood pressure checks, as well as additional testing by GPs to speed up the detection of heart disease.
“Improving the detection and control of high-risk conditions, such as atrial fibrillation, hypertension and high cholesterol, is among the interventions being rolled out to manage cardiovascular risks, and thousands of people are now being supported to better manage their conditions to hold. more effective than before the pandemic, reducing the risk of heart attacks and heart failure.”