NHS faces ‘ticking bomb’ with number of heart failure patients set to soar | Heart disease
The health service faces a “ticking time bomb” over people suffering from heart failure, with diagnosed cases predicted to nearly double by 2040, medical experts have warned. The British Society for Heart Failure (BSH) warns 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 face being overwhelmed in future years. Heart failure happens 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 hospitalisation and death. Treatments include medication to improve heart function and surgery, implanting a pacemaker to control heart rate or heart surgery to improve blood flow. About 80% of patients with heart failure are diagnosed after emergency admission to hospital. About one in 10 die in hospital and about a third who are discharged will die within the year. Doctors say patients are not being effectively diagnosed in the …