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Heart risk patients to get automatic referrals

BBC Headshot of Dr Brian Wang in a clinical office. He is wearing a purple shirt with a stethoscope around his shouldersBBC
Dr Brian Wang said it was "amazing" seeing the benefits to patients of the new system

Patients who may be at risk of heart failure will be able to access potentially life-saving treatment sooner.

A new alert system introduced in Jersey will automatically alert heart care specialists if a patient's blood test reveals higher levels of a specific protein known as BNP.

"When either a doctor in the hospital or a GP tests for BNP and it's high or meets a certain threshold we automatically get informed of that," explained Dr Brian Wang, a clinical fellow in cardiology.

Jersey plasterer Gualberto Jardim said he felt "very lucky" after his heart condition was caught early thanks to the new system.

Head shot of Albert Jardim wearing a pink blue and grey stripe t-shirt. He is sat down in a clinical office.
Albert Jardim described himself as "very lucky" following an early diagnosis of heart failure

Patients found to have a high BNP level will be invited for an Echocardiogram – a cardiac ultrasound – and a review of their case.

Under the new scheme they will be seen within 48 hours if they are in the community, or 24 hours, if they are an inpatient.

Dr Wang said it was "amazing to see first hand how patients are already benefitting by being treated more quickly if elevated levels of BNP are detected in their blood".

Mr Jardim said he had been able to return to work since his rapid diagnosis and treatment.

"I had very dangerous heart failure but because I was prescribed some specific heart medication my dangerous condition improved rapidly to almost normal health," he added.

The new scheme has been feeding into a national project that will shape how heart failure is treated worldwide in the future.

What is heart failure?

"It can be quite a scary term but heart failure doesn't mean that your heart is stopping," Dr Wang explained.

"It just means that the heart is either stiffer or not contracting as well so you can think of it like the engine in your car is not working as well as it should.

"It means that it's not doing as well as it could to get oxygen and blood to the rest of the body and that's what typically brings on the symptoms that people experience with heart failure.

"Heart failure presents in quite a few different ways, but a really easy way to the things to watch out for is the three Fs:

  • Fluid in the legs
  • Fatigue
  • Fighting for breath

"These are the common presenting symptoms that people have. If people are concerned about experiencing these symptoms it's really important that they do seek medical attention, the GP will often be the best person to initially ."

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