Researchers insist that more than 75% of heart disease patients could have their diagnosis sooner by having their blood tested.
Every year, around 200,000 Britons suffer from a dysfunctional heart. In 2010 regulators recommended an easy blood test which can help tell doctors if a patient’s heart is not strong enough.
Oxford University’s team analysed 1,400 GP practice data to determine how the use of the test has changed over time.
Only 0.4% of heart disease patients had undergone the procedure before diagnosis in 2004. This rose to 23.3 per cent by 2017 – but the scientists said further improvements need to be made.
Every year, around 200,000 Britons suffer from a dysfunctional heart. In 2010 regulators recommended an easy blood test which can help tell doctors if a patient’s heart is not strong enough
The test for natriuretic protein levels hormones which regulate blood volume. Dr Clare Taylor, a lecturer at Oxford, said heart failure affects a million Britons and the study showed ‘missed opportunities for us to diagnose sooner’.#
Dr Taylor said: ‘As a GP I often see patients with heart failure.
‘It is a serious, life-threatening condition that that affects around one million people in the UK alone.
‘There are 200,000 new cases each year, and about 80 per cent of these patients are only diagnosed when they are so unwell they’ve needed to be admitted to hospital.
‘As GPs we can do a simple blood test in primary care which tells us if heart failure is likely. If it’s raised, we can refer for a heart scan and assessment by a cardiologist.
‘The heart failure detection rate in our study over a 14-year period remained the same, suggesting there are still missed opportunities for us to diagnose sooner through testing.
The concentration of hormones which regulate blood volume is measured by the natriuretic-peptide test
‘There are many treatments that improve both quality of life and survival, but we need to give them earlier so patients benefit sooner and avoid hospitalisation, which is why this testing is so important.’
The concentration of hormones which regulate blood volume is measured by the natriuretic-peptide test.
When the heart isn’t strong enough, it releases more of these hormones as a result of the pressure of having to work harder, which can be a sign of heart failure.
The study’s findings, published in the European Heart Journal, also revealed most tests were carried out in patients with more advanced heart failure.
The authors state that this indicates that not enough progress was made to test patients in a timely manner for a diagnosis.
First author Andrea Roalfe said: ‘We did see more NP testing in older and more socially deprived groups, which we expected since these groups are typically at a higher risk of heart failure.’
According to the researchers, GPs will likely need more NP testing in order to reduce hospitalizations and diagnose heart failure earlier. This would increase survival rates and quality of care.
They suggested that the tests be performed on people suffering from heart disease symptoms like fatigue, breathlessness and swelling of the ankles.