International research to investigate best way to diagnose heart failure
News release from the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment
8 May 2006
International research commissioned by the NHS Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme will aim to establish the best way for GPs to diagnose heart failure, which affects over 63,000 people in the UK every year. Research teams in the UK and Australia will work together to identify a cost-effective diagnostic strategy for GPs to follow, enabling them to confirm or rule out the condition more easily and accurately.
The work, a collaboration between researchers at the Universities of Birmingham, London and Oxford in the UK and the University of Queensland in Australia, will include a review of all the evidence concerning the different signs and symptoms of the condition and the diagnostic tests used to investigate heart failure, including blood testing for BNP (brain natriuretic peptide), electrocardiography, echocardiography and chest x-ray. Researchers will use the actual data gathered in some of the studies identified (specifically research into blood testing for BNP) to better understand how to interpret test results in different types of patients. The team will then use these results and the summaries of all the research evidence to identify the best diagnostic strategy.
Two members of the research team were closely involved in the National Clinical Guideline on heart failure produced by the National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence (NICE), and it is anticipated that the results of this research will inform the next version of this guideline.
“There have been many studies to investigate the signs and symptoms of heart failure and the different types of tests that can be used to help support or rule out a diagnosis,” says lead researcher Dr Jonathan Mant, Senior Lecturer, Department of Primary Care and General Practice, University of Birmingham. “Quick and accurate diagnosis can save lives, while r uling out the condition early could reduce the need for tests such as echocardiography. We hope that the results of this research will benefit patients by helping GPs to better and more quickly diagnose heart failure.”
Notes:
According to the British Heart Foundation’s statistics website (www.heartstats.org ), there are around 63,500 new cases of heart failure in the UK every year. Heart failure is managed at nearly 0.7% of all general practice consultations and around 4% of consultations involving patients aged 45 and over. In 2000 there were around 7.6 million consultations for heart failure in the UK, with a GP cost of about £104 million. Men and women aged 75 and above are around twice as likely to consult their GP for heart failure than for coronary heart disease or stroke.
The research project ‘Systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis of diagnosis of heart failure, with modelling of the implications of different diagnostic strategies in primary care’ is due for publication in the Health Technology Assessment journal series in 2007. View the project details page at http://www.hta.ac.uk/project/1509.asp
The HTA programme will have a stand at the Primary Care conference from 4 th – 5 th May at the Birmingham NEC. For more information on other conferences the programme is attending please visit www.hta.ac.uk
Notes for editors
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The HTA programme is a programme of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and produces high quality research information about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest of the NIHR programmes and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with more than 400 issues published to date. The journal’s 2007 Impact Factor (3.87) ranked it in the top 10% of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download free of charge from the website, www.hta.ac.uk The HTA programme is coordinated by the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA), based at the University of Southampton.
- The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk
Contact details
Naomi Stockley, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 646, Email: ns5@soton.ac.uk
Helen Nikandrou, Assistant Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 584, Email: h.nikandrou@soton.ac.uk
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