North West has highest number of people living with heart failure in UK

Professor Andrew Trafford

More than 65,000 people in the North West have been diagnosed with heart failure, the highest number in the UK, according to latest statistics from the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

The figures, gathered from local GP lists, mean the proportion of people with heart failure in the North West is almost double the figure for London.

However, new research at the University of Manchester could potentially lead to breakthroughs which would help the thousands of sufferers in the North West affected by the incurable condition.

BHF Senior Research Fellow Professor Andrew Trafford and his team have shown in the lab that heart cells from a failing heart survive longer when they receive a drug that blocks an enzyme called PDE5. The drug, commonly known as Viagra, is normally used to treat erectile dysfunction.

The researchers, funded by the BHF, are now looking to confirm whether the same drugs can also prevent abnormal heart rhythms which are responsible for killing up to half of heart failure patients.They hope that these two studies, in animals, will then lead to clinical trials in people with heart failure.

Heart failure is most commonly caused by a heart attack which causes damage to the heart that can never be repaired. This means a person’s heart fails to pump blood around the body efficiently, leaving some sufferers in a constant fight for life. Symptoms can include fatigue, shortness of breath and swelling.

Up to a third of patients admitted to hospital with heart failure will die within twelve months.  
While there is medication to manage the condition and control symptoms, there is currently no cure, and those with severe heart failure will eventually need a heart transplant to extend their life. Those with mild or moderate heart failure may be able to live a normal life with the right medication.

Throughout the month of June the BHF is raising awareness of the condition and is calling for more research into heart failure to help the thousands of sufferers in the UK’s worst affected region.

Elaine Harris has been living with heart failure for two years and is supporting the BHF’s campaign.

Elaine Harris, 50, from Wigan, had a heart attack aged just 48. Her heart muscle was so damaged that she is now living with severe heart failure and has been left unable to work.
She said: “The last thing I expected was to have a heart attack when I was 48, but to then be told I had severe heart failure was completely devastating.

“My life has completely changed now, I no longer work, I sleep at least 16 hours a day and I can’t walk very far at all without resting.

“I still live my life to the fullest I can – but living with this condition has meant a new and restricted way of life and I am completely dependent on my family. I’m now waiting to see if I qualify for the transplant list. The British Heart Foundation’s research is so important to try and find a cure for heart failure so that patients, like me, would be given hope of a better quality of life.”

Through the Mending Broken Hearts Appeal, the BHF has funded over £25 million of research into regenerative medicine across the UK. This work aims to help repair the heart following a heart attack, which would benefit the majority of heart failure patients.

Professor Andrew Trafford, funded by the BHF, said: “Heart failure is a devastating condition which means your heart is not pumping blood around your body as well as it used to. It can really impact a person’s quality of life, and sadly up to a third of patients admitted to hospital with it will die within a year.

“Our work focuses on the reasons why the hearts of patients with heart failure fail to pump blood properly and are more susceptible to life threatening heart rhythm disturbances known as arrhythmias.

“Our studies have shown that drugs normally used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, such as Viagra, actually have a very pronounced effect in slowing the progression of heart failure as well as reducing the likelihood of fatal arrhythmias. Furthermore we have recently established that patients who receive Viagra or similar drugs for erectile dysfunction are also far less likely to then go on and die from a heart attack.

“These exciting findings, which were made possible by people donating to the British Heart Foundation, pave the way for future studies in patients with heart failure or at risk of developing heart failure to confirm that Viagra and related drugs are indeed helpful new tools in the fight against heart disease.”