Record numbers of hospital visits by women with heart disease and stroke

Source: British Heart Foundation

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Date of publication: September 2017

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: Women visiting hospital with CVD has surged by almost 100,000 in just ten years, and continues to rise, according to new analysis.

Latest figures show that the number of hospital visits by women with CVD in England – which includes heart disease and stroke – reached 642,000 for 2015/16, an increase of 93,000 on the number ten years ago (549,000).

The number of hospital visits by women with CVD has grown by 50% in the 20 years since it hit 420,000 in 1995. And the number has more than doubled since the early 1980s when it was less than 250,000.

Length of publication: 1 webpage

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: British Heart Foundation

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Scientists to create computer models to study deadly heart condition

Source: British Heart Foundation

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Date of publication: August 2017

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: Scientists at the University of Oxford are to develop computer models of the human heart to better understand a deadly inherited heart condition.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the main cause of sudden cardiac death in children and young adults. About 1 in 500 of the UK population has the condition, although most people who have it have few, if any, symptoms.

HCM affects both the muscle structure and electrical function of the heart, but how those factors combine to increase the risk of abnormal heart rhythms and sudden death is not known.

To better understand that relationship, Dr Alfonso Bueno-Orovio has been awarded £542,000 by us to take up a prestigious Intermediate Fellowship. He will collaborate with experts working in computer science, laboratories and clinics to construct computer models of the human heart in HCM. These can then be used to run simulations of how the disease causes dangerous heart rhythms.

This research could reveal more about the mechanisms behind HCM, and highlight new ways to diagnose and treat people who are at most risk of sudden cardiac death.

Length of publication: 1 webpage

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: British Heart Foundation

Going to university may cut your risk of heart disease

Source: NHS Choices – Behind the Headlines

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Date of publication: September 2017

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: A new gene study found people with genes associated with spending longer in education had around a 33% reduced risk of developing heart disease.

Length of publication: 1 webpage

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: NHS Choices – Behind the Headlines

Tenth of men aged 50 ‘have heart age 10 years older’

Source: BBC Health News

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Date of publication: September 2017

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: One-tenth of 50-year-old men have a heart age 10 years older than they are, heightening their risk of a fatal heart attack or stroke, a study suggests.  The Public Health England analysis is based on responses from 1.2 million people to its Heart Age Test – 33,000 of whom were men aged 50.

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Acknowledgement:  BBC Health News

Statins cut heart deaths in men by 28%, study finds

Source: NHS Choices – Behind the Headlines

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Date of publication: August 2017

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: Current UK guidelines recommend that people with a 1 in 10 chance of developing CVD at some point in the next 10 years should be offered statins. The researchers say men who took statins during the trial period were about 25% less likely to get heart disease or have a major event like a heart attack or stroke during the trial, and in the 20 years afterwards.  The results of this new analysis led the researchers to conclude that more people with high cholesterol should be offered statins.

Length of publication: 1 webpage

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: NHS Choices – Behind the Headlines

Early gene-editing success holds promise for preventing inherited heart diseases

Source: British Heart Foundation

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Date of publication: August 2017

Publication type: Research

In a nutshell: Scientists have, for the first time, used gene-editing to correct the genetic mutation for a heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).  This new advance could mean that it would be possible to correct the defect at the earliest stage of embryonic development so that the defect would not be passed on to future generations.

Length of publication: 1 webpage

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: British Heart Foundation

Long working week ‘may increase risk of irregular heartbeat’

Source: NHS Choices – Behind the Headlines

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Date of publication: July 2017

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: “Long working days can cause heart problems, study says,” The Guardian reports.

Researchers found people who work 55 or more hours a week had an increased risk of developing a type of irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation, where the heart can beat very fast.

Complications of atrial fibrillation include stroke and heart failure.

Length of publication: 1 webpage

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

Acknowledgement: NHS Choices – Behind the Headlines