Latest News
12/04/2024
BSH Releases Advice on NT-proBNP cut-offs for Acute Heart Failure in the Emergency Department
The British Society for Heart Failure endorses the European Society for Cardiology Heart Failure Association clinical consensus statement recommending NT-proBNP age-related cut-offs for identification of acute heart failure.
Heart Health Survey
Edinburgh Napier University and Robert Gordon University are working with the James Lind Alliance to conduct a survey. The survey is looking into the most popular questions that patients, carers and clinical professionals have about digital technology and how it is used in heart disease and heart condition management and prevention. Those who need the research most should have a say in what is researched, this is your chance to have yours.
If you are a patient with a heart condition or heart disease, you care for someone who has a heart condition or heart disease, or you are a clinical professional whose work involves those with heart conditions or heart disease, then we ask you to please take a moment to complete this survey.
You can find our survey at Survey 1 - Digital Heart PSP (napier.ac.uk). Please take some time to fill it out and share it with those who may be interested. If you would like a paper copy, please contact the team at DigitalHeart@napier.ac.uk
Semaglutide improves symptoms of heart failure
In recent clinical trials, the weight-loss drug semaglutide showed promising development in improving the symptoms of heart failure. The trial was conducted over 2years with 529 patients from 13 countries in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. The announcement was made on the first day of the European Society of Cardiology conference this weekend. Our Chair of the BSH Patient Advisory Panel was interviewed by Sky News for his reaction:
BSH Elections Open 4 August!
We are seeking enthusiastic and forward-thinking individuals from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to:
Clinicians, researchers, and healthcare practitioners with experience in heart failure management.
Innovators with a keen interest in technology, digital health, and data-driven solutions to enhance heart failure care.
Visionaries with a keen interest in improving population health and reducing health inequalities aligned to the BSH 25in25 strategy
and Fast Track Communities initiative. 25IN25 — British Society For Heart Failure (bsh.org.uk)
NICE Final Draft Guidance
NICE has released final draft guidance for Paxlovid today and we are pleased to report that Heart Failure is in the patient inclusion list.
This decision marks a potentially positive step forward in enhancing treatment options for individuals suffering from Heart Failure
Access the full guidance here
Nearly 100,000 more deaths involving heart conditions and stroke than usual since pandemic began
BHF calls on Government to take charge of the cardiovascular disease crisis
A new analysis published by the BHF reveals nearly 100,000 more people with cardiovascular disease than expected have died since the start of the pandemic in England. This analysis is based on data publicly available from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. In brief, they report two main findings:
1. That acute covid-19 infection does not appear to explain even a third of excess deaths involving cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the most recent year of the pandemic
2. That excess deaths involving CVD outnumber excess deaths involving all other individual disease areas since the onset of the pandemic in England
They do not believe that there is a single factor that’s driving these excess deaths, but propose that several factors are likely to be at play, including epidemiological factors relating to direct and indirect consequences of covid-19 infection; extreme disruption to the healthcare service stemming from the pandemic; changing patient behaviour; and poorer wider population health in England in the years preceding, and since the onset of, the covid-19 pandemic in England.
Their overarching aim with this work is to call for not only more research into why this is happening, but to encourage political leaders to prioritise CVD within their health plans, particularly as we head towards the next election. Specifically, they are calling on Government to:
1. prioritise NHS heart care
2. better prevent heart disease and stroke
3. power research to unlock future treatments and cures
BSH is launching ‘25in25’ - the first step to reducing heart failure deaths by 25% in 25 years:
We have an ambitious but achievable, long-term goal that will change the trajectory of heart failure. We are working in collaboration with charities and professional associations across the wider cardiorenal-metabolic spectrum to produce a plan to achieve this. As we all know, heart failure is a primary endpoint for almost all cardiovascular diseases but it is also a significant cause of mortality for conditions including renal disease and diabetes. And, from epidemiology to pathophysiology, there are overlaps with many other organ systems and clinical specialties.
The first stop on this journey will be to ‘detect the undetected’ – those, yet undiagnosed patients and intervene early, when you know we can make the biggest difference to people’s lives and outcomes. Building on the core tenets of the ‘Freedom from Failure – the F word’ campaign, let’s come together as the UK’s heart failure specialist community to raise awareness of the importance of recognising heart failure symptoms early, getting an accurate diagnosis and receiving optimal treatment and let’s do this during the ESC-HFA Heart Failure Awareness week: 1st-7th May 2023.
A summit was held on Thursday 9 March - for more information on this initiative head over to the 25IN25 webpage - 25IN25 — British Society For Heart Failure (bsh.org.uk) or click the button to download:
