Science
7 things we learned at the UK’s largest heart conference
This week the British Cardiovascular Society conference gave us three days of cutting-edge developments in heart and circulatory research. Many of the UK’s brightest cardiovascular minds came to Manchester to share what they have been doing for the past 12 months. Here are seven things that we learned.
1. Heart attacks are more common on a Monday
A study of 10,528 patients who had the most serious type of heart attack across the island of Ireland found that rates were highest on Mondays.
Known as an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), these types of heart attack occur when a major coronary artery is blocked. The researchers also found that these happen at higher rates than expected on a Sunday.
“This study adds to evidence around the timing of particularly serious heart attacks, but we now need to unpick what it is about certain days of the week that makes them more likely. Doing so could help doctors better understand this deadly condition so we can save more lives in future.” - Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, our Medical Director
2. Testing for 'zombie cells' could boost number of hearts for transplant
Researchers from Newcastle University are working to develop a test for ‘zombie’ cells which may help clinicians determine quickly whether a donor heart may still be suitable for transplant.
‘Zombie’ cells aren’t dead, but they don’t work as they should. They release molecules which can turn neighbouring cells into ‘zombie’ cells too. They also increase the amount of inflammation and cause scar tissue to form in the heart muscle. This raises the risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases.
The team now want to find out more about the ‘signature’ that ‘zombie’ cells leave in the blood and what that signature tells them about the biological age of the heart. They think that a blood test to look for this signature in older potential donors could be the key to allowing some hearts from over-65s to be transplanted.
“Our work is revealing more about the clues that ‘zombie’ cells leave to suggest their presence in the body. We are confident that we will be able to use these clues to better understand which hearts from non-eligible donors might be able to be used after all.” - Dr Gavin Richardson, Senior lecturer and lead of the Vascular Medicine and Biology Theme at Newcastle University
3. Daily beetroot juice could benefit angina patients
Researchers have found that a daily drink of beetroot juice in the six months after angina patients have a stent fitted can halve the narrowing of the stent. This could be a way to ensure many more stent procedures are successful long-term.
The team, based at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Queen Mary University in London, found that 16 per cent of angina patients had a serious heart or circulatory incident, like a heart attack or need for another procedure, in the two years after having a stent fitted. However, when patients had beetroot juice daily, this dropped to 7.5 per cent.
“Stenting is one of the most crucial tools we have in the fight against coronary heart disease but work still needs to be done to ensure that every patient sees a long-term benefit from the procedure.” - Professor James Leiper, our Associate Medical Director
4. Defibrillators used in just 10 per cent of out of hospital cardiac arrests
Public access defibrillators are being used in just one in ten cardiac arrests where the lifesaving devices are available, according to new research from the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre and Anglia Ruskin University.
The research drew upon data from the East of England Ambulance Service and The Circuit, the national defibrillator network developed by us. The researchers found that 1649 cardiac arrests occurred in the East of England in the six-month period. Public access defibrillators were available (within 500m of the cardiac arrest) in 1302 (79 per cent) cases, but only used in 132 (10 per cent) of cases.
“Prompt CPR and defibrillation from bystanders can be the difference between life and death, so it is concerning to see low rates of defib use. There are many known reasons for the low use of defibrillators, including not having enough bystanders available at the scene of an emergency, difficulty in accessing a defibrillator at the time when it is needed, or fear of it using it. More needs to be done to encourage people to use these life saving devices when they are available.” - Judy O’Sullivan, our Director of Innovation in Health Programmes
5. Virtual blood vessel technology could improve heart disease care
Patients with heart disease could benefit from less extensive interventions thanks to cutting-edge technology that creates 3D computer models of blood flow through the heart's arteries.
When the research team trialled the VIRTUHeartTM technology with doctors treating heart attack patients, they found that using it would have changed the treatment of more than 20 per cent of patients. In many cases, it would have led to fewer patients undergoing an invasive procedure such as having a stent fitted.
“Technologies like VIRTUHeartTM show real promise to improve treatment as well as reducing unnecessary interventions, expense and complications and freeing up clinicians’ time to treat other patients.” - Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, our Medical Director
6. Using a virtual ward for atrial fibrillation patients could prevent thousands of hospital admissions per year
In a year-long study, some patients with a fast heart rate due to atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter were sent home with the heart rate-lowering medication they would usually get in hospital, and asked to submit daily information using a smartphone app.
The team found that 127 unplanned hospitalisations were prevented. This saved an estimated 444 days in hospital for patients. The findings also showed the average heart rate reduced from 124 bpm when patients were admitted to the virtual ward to 84 bpm when they were discharged.
“The positive treatment outcomes and high patient satisfaction seen in this study show that we don’t have to make compromises when saving time and money on atrial fibrillation treatment. The same approach may be possible and is already being trialled for other heart conditions such as heart failure.” – Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, our Medical Director
7. Three award winning BHF researchers
Dr Wei Li from University of Cambridge was named BHF Fellow of the Year for her research into the causes of the rare inherited blood vessel disorder, hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia.
BHF researcher Prof Vanessa Ferreira from the University of Oxford won the Michael Davies Early Career Award for her research into cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging to study the heart.
Dr Arunashis Sau, a BHF fellow at Imperial College London, won the Young Investigator Award for his work using data analysis and artificial intelligence to better predict which patients benefit from ablation to treat their atrial fibrillation.