Do heart attack treatments change depending where you live?

Source: British Heart Foundation

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Date of publication: July 2016

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: The care that you receive after a heart attack will vary greatly depending on where you live, a 10-year-long study suggested today.

This variation in care was largely due to differences in the delivery of heart attack treatments between hospitals.

The most frequently missed interventions were dietary advice, advice to help people to stop smoking and the prescription of a type of anti-clotting drug known as P2Y12 inhibitors, such as clopidogrel when indicated, which was associated with potentially avoidable deaths.

Some regions are only providing optimal care in just over 10 per cent of cases, the study funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) found.

Length of publication: 1 webpage

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Acknowledgement:    British Heart Foundation

Blood test breakthrough improves diagnosis of inherited heart conditions

Source: British Heart Foundation

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Date of publication: February 2016

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell:

A new genetic test for heart conditions which are passed down through families has been developed by researchers.

The international team of researchers, led by Professor Stuart Cook, in Singapore, Imperial College London and at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre showed that by looking at a particular group of genes they were able to reliably test for all known inherited heart condition genes with one simple blood test. 

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

NHS Health Checks ‘prevented thousands of heart attacks’

Source: NHS Choices – Behind the Headlines

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Date of publication: January 2016

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell:

NHS Health Checks, introduced in 2009, are offered to people aged 40 to 74 years old. They look for risk factors associated with a number of related conditions: heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and some types of dementia.

The researchers looked at how many people took part in the programme. While the uptake was initially relatively low (5.8%), this increased to about a third of those eligible in 2012-13.

It is also encouraging that some of the more vulnerable groups – those who are older and those in the most deprived social group – were most likely to attend the checks.

A proportion of those identified as being at high risk of heart disease in the checks started statins (19.3%) or high blood pressure treatment (8.8%). Extrapolating this data, the researchers estimated that NHS Health Checks prevented around 2,500 cases of major cardiovascular events such as stroke and heart attack over the course of five years.

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

2m study to check if chest scans can cut heart attack risk

Source: National Institute for Healthcare Research

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Date of publication: March 2015

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: A trial funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme will examine whether giving cardiac CT scans to patients when they arrive at hospital with chest pain is a cost effective way to improve treatment, save lives and cut unnecessary hospital admissions.

In the UK, around 700,000 patients attend hospital emergency departments each year with chest pains, with many being admitted to hospital for further tests.

Further testing often involves patients being given an angiogram, which looks at the blood flow through the heart to identify any obstructions that could pose a heart attack risk. The angiogram accurately identifies coronary artery obstruction, but involves passing a catheter into the heart and therefore carries significant risks.

The trial will use cardiac CT scans to test patients upon admission to hospital, enabling doctors to look at the blood vessels within the heart and detect abnormalities without the risks associated with an angiogram. Cardiac CT scans are also around an eighth of the cost of an angiogram.

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: National Institute for Healthcare Research

Cholesterol and a healthier nation: shared responsibility for better public health

Source: Heart UK

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Date of publication: 13 December 2011

Publication type: Report

In a nutshell: This report makes 8 recommendations to ensure adequate funding for NHS Trusts to implement fully the NHS Health Check programme in order to help prevent early death caused by high cholesterol and other cardiovascular risk factors.

Length of publication: 24 pages

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.

NHS Health Checks Ready Reckoner correction

Source: NHS Health Check

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Date of publication: 12 April 2011

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: The original version of the NHS Health Checks Ready Reckoner was published online in March 2011, but a calculation error was subsequently discovered. This has now been corrected and a new version is available to download. Those who previously used the tool to produce estimates based on local population split by age and gender, need to re-run their calculations using the new version.

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 Improvement – Heart

Considerable uncertainty remains in the evidence for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease

Source: The Cochrane Library

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Date of publication: 14 January 2011

Publication type: Editorial

In a nutshell: This editorial is written by Carl Heneghan, Director of the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, and Clinical Reader in the Department of Primary Health Care, University of Oxford. It is based on the evidence from two new Cochrane reviews of preventive strategies: multiple risk factor interventions for primary prevention of CHD, and statins for the primary prevention of CVD.

Length of publication: 1 web page

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.

National exercise proven to be cost effective in Wales

Source: Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

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Date of publication: 16 November 2010

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: The Welsh National Exercise Referral Scheme (NERS) was introduced in 2007, replacing local schemes. Research and evaluation by Cardiff and Bangor universities shows it to be cost-effective in helping people reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as CVD.

Length of publication: 1 web page

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Quality of life and cost-effectiveness of a 3-year trial of lifestyle intervention in primary health care

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, 13 September 2010, vol 170 no 16, pp 1470-1479

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Date of publication: September 2010

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: This Swedish study of 151 patients over 3 years, demonstrated clear and cost-effective impact of group-based lifestyle interventions on quality of life (QOL) in patients at moderate to high risk of CVD. The researchers performed health economic evaluation, cost-utility analysis and cost-effectiveness using the net monetary benefit method.

Length of publication: 10 pages

Some important notes: You will need an NHS Athens username and password to access this article. Please contact your local NHS library if you cannot access the full text. Follow this link to find your local NHS library.

NHS Health Check workshop, London – July 2010

Source: NHS Improvement – Heart

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Date of publication: July 2010

Publication type: Best Practice

In a nutshell: Presentations from this National Learning Network event include social marketing, and examples of good practice from NHS Islington and NHS Lambeth.

Length of publication: 1 web page plus

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iPlato supports Birmingham health checks

Source: E-Health Insider Primary Care

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Date of publication: 18th June 2010

Publication type: News item

In a nutshell: 24 GP practices in Birmingham have been using text messaging to invite patients to attend for their NHS Health Check. A 44% success rate has been achieved so far from 1850 referrals.

Length of publication: 1 web page

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.

The contribution of local policies to cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases

Source: National Library for Public Health e-newsletter June 2010

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Date of publication: May 2010

Publication type: Research

In a nutshell:This report brings together evidence from international literature, and opinions from local policy makers, in order to produce realistic recommendations for policy action best suited to the city of Liverpool.

Length of publication: 42 pages

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: Liverpool First for Health and Wellbeing Partnership