JERSEY has been selected as one of seven sites in the British Isles which will take part in a pilot scheme aiming to achieve a major reduction in deaths from heart failure.
A week after a public health report projected that cases of the condition in the Island could rise by 42% within two decades as the population ages, the new project seeks to diagnose problems early and fast-track patients.
Clinicians from the General Hospital will now have direct links to other pilot sites, enabling them to compare notes in order to identify common trends and learn lessons from the experiences of their counterparts.
The pilot programme aims to create a “dashboard” using data gathered from general practice records to help identify issues earlier.
Patients have previously gone through a process lasting six months or even longer before they have been fully assessed and given the necessary medication to combat their heart problems. However, the idea behind the initiative is to streamline this process and compress this period to just six to eight weeks.
The “25in25” initiative hopes to cut deaths from heart failure in the British Isles by a quarter within 25 years, with the first five sites confirmed last year as Blackpool, Liverpool, Swansea, Birmingham and Peterborough.
Coinciding with Valentine’s Day, it was confirmed yesterday that Jersey and Glasgow would be the next centres to join the pilot this summer, before a national rollout in 2025.
Keeping patients alive is not the sole aim of the pilot; those who have received care from the cardiology team will be surveyed afterwards in order to identify whether their treatment has achieved a positive impact on their quality of life.
Consultant cardiologist Pierre Le Page said the Island had applied and been selected by the British Society for Heart Failure following an interview and assessment process.
“We want to pick up heart-related issues early, before they require a patient to be admitted to hospital – the earlier this happens, the better the outcomes,” he said.
Currently, four in every five patients are diagnosed with heart disease following an emergency admission.
As part of the pilot, the cardiology team at Jersey General Hospital are working with GP colleagues to encourage Islanders to be aware of the potential signs of heart failure and seek advice from GPs.
Using the acronym BEAT, the focus of the messaging is on:
Breathless, Exhausted, Ankle-swelling = Time for a blood test.
Dr Le Page said that while breathlessness might be shrugged off by some, and swollen feet and ankles might not be associated with heart failure, those noticing such issues should not ignore them, but arrange an appointment at their GP’s surgery.
“The rising prevalence of heart failure is not unexpected, but equally it’s not inevitable,” he said. “There are also a lot of lifestyle issues – not doing enough exercise, eating the right foods, looking after your mental health and having good sleep patterns – which can be a factor, not just for cardiovascular health but for many other issues.”
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the UK and globally, accounting for about a third of lives lost each year. Should the pilot achieve its aim, it is estimated that potentially the lives of around 10,000 Britons would be saved annually.
Jersey’s Disease Projections Report, published last week, forecast that at current rates there would be 1,680 Islanders who have experienced heart failure by 2043 – an increase of 42% from the 2023 figure.
Currently, there are just over 20,000 people in Jersey who are aged 65 or more. This is the equivalent to 19% of the population, but this figure is set to rise to between 22% and 27% by 2043, depending on the Island’s population.
