Heart Valve Voice News

On September 12th, Heart Valve Voice visited the Palace of Westminster as part of Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week 2023 in an attempt to raise awareness of heart valve disease. We parked the Your Heart Matters Bus in New Palace Yard and offered stethoscope checks to MPs and staff to highlight the importance of early detection of the disease.

Today marks the start of International Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week. A week that aims to improve the global diagnosis, treatment, and management of heart valve disease. The week is celebrated by charities from across the globe, all to promote awareness of the disease, its symptoms and the importance of early detection and timely treatment.

All NHS regions should properly consult patients on how to improve outcomes, says the Medical Technology Group in its latest report. Research into the structures, policies and processes of the country’s 42 Integrated Care Systems found that, while there are examples of best practice, 40 percent of them have no formal patient involvement in Board meetings and subcommittees in place.

Earlier this year, Clinical Lead for Intervention at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, Dr Clare Appleby, gave a presentation to leading figures in the heart valve disease world about gender inequalities in heart valve disease treatment. Here, Dr Appleby discusses that presentation and looks at how to address inequalities in heart valve disease care.

Traditionally heart valve follow-ups in outpatients are offered at routine intervals. Although this works well for some patients, for those who are managing their condition well it often means time and money spent on a trip to a hospital that isn’t needed.

In the largest randomized trial conducted to compare minimally invasive and conventional cardiac surgical techniques for repairing a poorly functioning mitral valve, improvements in physical activity, as well as surgical outcomes and quality of life were similar in both groups of patients at 12 weeks post-surgery. The research was presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology.

Last week, Heart Valve Voice once again teamed up with our partners at Valve for Life UK for another Your Heart Matters event. This time, the team went to Bristol, where we were joined by clinicians from University Hospital Bristol and Weston

Across the UK, clinicians face the reality of their patients dying while waiting to be treated. Patients who are being treated are having to wait longer, meaning they are becoming sicker, and require more complex procedures. Clinicians face a constant battle for lab space and bed space, just to be able to perform their life-saving duties.

Yesterday Heart Valve Voice were delighted to be at Birmingham Central Library to promote awareness of heart valve disease and how it's treated.

Earlier this week, I was asked to represent Heart Valve Voice and its patient community at a Westminster Health Forum event on Next Steps for Diagnostics and Medical Devices in England. The event featured stakeholders from across the health space, with policymakers, industry professionals and clinical leaders coming together to share their thoughts and ideas. I was there as a patient to share my experience and talk more broadly about what I have learned from other patients as an advocate for Heart Valve Voice.