The health service is facing a “ticking time bomb” over people suffering from heart failure, with diagnosed cases predicted to almost double by 2040, medical experts have warned.
The British Heart Failure Society (BSH) warns that there are an estimated 400,000 people with undiagnosed heart failure in the UK. It warns there is an urgent need for a national initiative to detect these cases or NHS services will be overwhelmed for years to come.
Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot properly pump blood throughout 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 medications to improve heart function and surgery, implantation of a pacemaker to control heart rate, or heart surgery to improve blood flow.
Approximately 80% of heart failure patients are diagnosed after an emergency hospital admission. About one in 10 dies in hospital and about a third of those discharged will die within a year. Doctors say patients are not receiving effective diagnosis in the community.
Lynn Mackay-Thomas, chief executive of BSH, said: “We face a tsunami of hospital admissions if we do not systematically find people with heart failure early or at higher risk of developing heart failure.
“It is a time bomb. A national, sustainable, centrally commissioned program to find people before they suffer serious illness can 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 projected disease patterns in England reported that the number of heart failure cases in England was forecast to increase by 92% between 2019 and 2040. This compares with a projected increase 31% for cancer. and a 45% increase for dementia.
Data from GP consultations is being analyzed in a pilot project supported by doctors and BSH to identify those at risk of heart failure who have not yet been diagnosed. A report published this month in the British Journal of Cardiology He says the opportunity for earlier diagnosis is currently being missed.
Abudullah Arshad, 28, a civil engineer from Chigwell, London, was diagnosed with heart failure in June 2018 after experiencing severe heart palpitations. He said: “I was doing a bit of exercise and I could see my heart beating through my shirt because it was beating so fast.”
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Arshad said he made repeated visits to a walk-in medical center and a hospital emergency department before he was finally diagnosed during a visit to another hospital.
He said: “As soon as I was diagnosed, I became bedridden. They told me that if I did anything, I could die from cardiac arrest.
“I was surprised by what happened. How can someone go to the hospital with heart failure and be misdiagnosed? He could have died at any second. I was not only a danger to myself, but also to everyone around me. And it was not picked up on numerous occasions.”
Arshad now takes medications that have 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 chair of the BSH media and policy committee, said: “We have big national campaigns to raise awareness among patients about heart attacks and major national campaigns for stroke patients, but there is no national campaign for heart failure.
“It is a tragedy considering that we have the therapies to improve people. Politicians and policymakers must recognize that there is a problem and that it is a problem that is going to explode. This is not a death sentence.
“When you diagnose and treat people earlier, you see a lot of benefits and can help people feel better and live longer,” he added.
A BSH initiative, 25in25, aims to reduce deaths from heart failure by 25% over the next 25 years. He says patients who may be suffering from this condition should recognize these key symptoms: shortness of breath, fatigue, and fluid buildup in the body.
An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS remains committed to saving thousands more lives due to cardiovascular disease, as set out in the long-term plan, and has put in place a number of preventive measures to help people 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 the detection of heart disease.
“Improving the detection and management of high-risk diseases, such as atrial fibrillation, hypertension and high cholesterol, is one of the interventions being implemented to control cardiovascular risks, and thousands more people are now supported to manage better condition. “effectively than before the pandemic, reducing the likelihood of heart attacks and heart failure.”