20 Specialist clinics


23 OCTOBER 2021 • HEALTHCARE INNOVATIONS DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SATURDAY DAILY MAIL Living with heart failure


More than one million patients are living with heart failure today. Spot the symptoms early and get the therapy


Peter is a 77-year-old gentleman who’s been active throughout his life; he rarely felt the need to visit his GP. He noticed he was becoming increasingly breath- less and tired. At one point, he was forced to visit his local A&E department when his breathing had deteriorated, but he was discharged after initial tests were inconclusive. He sought the advice of consultant cardi- ologist Matthew Kahn and after initial investigations, was diag- nosed with heart failure. Te cardiologist ated


promptly initi- appropriate medication


and Peter began to feel slightly better. More recently, Peter had a biventricular defibrillator (Medtronic) device implanted to try and help with his heart failure symptoms, but also to protect him against potentially fatal rhythm disturbances. When Peter was first assessed,


it was clear that his heart wasn’t pumping well at all. He’d prob- ably lived with this condition for quite some time without real- ising. Now he’s taking the correct medication, along with his biven- tricular defibrillator, consultant cardiologist Matthew Kahn is very optimistic about Peter’s future.


“I can’t thank Dr Kahn and his


team enough. My diagnosis came as a huge shock; however, the care I’ve received has been first class. I feel so much safer now that my defibrillator has been fitted and it’s very reassuring to know that I’m being monitored remotely via my device,” said Peter.


WHAT’S HEART FAILURE AND WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF THE CONDITION? Heart failure is a condition affecting the heart muscle. During the disease process, the ability of the heart to pump blood around the body is Tis


impaired. can become worse over


time and can cause various symptoms such as breathless- ness, fatigue, ankle swelling and reduced exercise tolerance. Tere are various causes of heart failure, such as coronary artery disease or valvular heart disease; some people can be genetically predisposed. Many people affected by heart


failure live without the condition being diagnosed and therefore untreated (data suggests a rela- tively high prevalence of unde- tected heart failure exists in the community). Tis is especially true during the current Covid-19


Matthew Kahn is a consultant cardiologist (specialising in heart failure and complex device therapy). He works at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital. For more information, visit: cardiologymanchester.co.uk Citations: 1. British Heart Foundation. Heart Failure: A blueprint for change: bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-public-affairs/transforming-healthcare/heart-failure-report. 2. NICE. Putting NICE guidance into practice: nice.org.uk/guidance/ng106/resources/resource-impact-report-pdf-6537494413#:~:text=2.3%20It%20is%20estimated%20that,into%20Living%20with%20Heart%20Failure 3. bhf.org.uk/for-professionals/healthcare-professionals/blog/2019/rushed-to-hospital-when-heart-failure-isnt-diagnosed-early-enough


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