Worcestershire hospitals involved in 'ground-breaking research' to help identify rare heart condition
The research is looking at patients who could develop Transthyretin Amyloidosis Cardiomyopathy and providing them with a quicker diagnosis and treatment
A specialist heart doctor from Worcestershire’s hospitals is leading what has been labelled a 'ground-breaking research project' aimed at identifying those at risk of rare life-threatening heart conditions and getting them a diagnosis and treatment earlier.
Consultant cardiologist Dr David Wilson has received funding from Pfizer to set-up specialist heart screening clinics in the county to spot those who could develop a type of cardiac amyloidosis which can lead to heart failure.
Transthyretin Amyloidosis Cardiomyopathy is known as a rare condition that affects the heart, it was previously considered untreatable and can lead to progressive heart failure or death if left undiagnosed.
Dr Wilson says the research will really help patients and allow them to make sure they get the support they need.
"This is it exciting because we don't think this has been done in the UK before to screen patients so specifically for this," he said.
"I see this condition relatively frequently, I probably make the diagnosis 2-3 times a month, which at one point we were just making it once or twice a year.
"That's why it's useful to get these patients diagnosed earlier and get their treatment started sooner."
A digital platform called TriNetX is being used to input a list of diagnoses such as carpal tunnel syndrome and spinal stenosis that are known to be more likely to be present in those with Transthyretin Amyloidosis Cardiomyopathy.
Using the data, Dr Wilson can then identify patients who may be at a higher risk of it but who have not yet received a diagnosis and those patients will be invited to a specialist screening clinic for further testing.
"It's good for the patient because if they get an early diagnosis then the treatment could be started earlier and it's good for us because as a hospital we can treat them early and then we can show other hospitals how we've gone about this process," he said.
"We have already started the screening process so we have probably gone through three or four hundred patients' notes, looking at and identifying them, but it'll probably be in the autumn that we start calling patients to clinic.
"Patients that have this condition tend to have things such as breathlessness, fatigue, fluid retention and if people have got those symptoms then they should be making an appointment with their GP.
"If there is any concerns then they can be referred for further assessments where a heart specialist can then make such a diagnosis."
The research is being carried out in Worcestershire Acute Hospitals such as the Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.