A third of common NHS heart scans ‘fail’ says UEA study
Experts say thousands of patients are leaving appointments “without clear answers”
Around a third of the most common tests performed in the NHS “fail”, a study from the University of East Anglia suggests.
This means thousands of patients are leaving appointments “without clear answers”, experts said.
And the NHS is forking out thousands of pounds for additional tests.
But the new study, published in JRSM Cardiovascular Disease, has identified which patients are least likely to get clear results from these heart ultrasound scans, who may possibly benefit from different tests.
Academics, led by experts from the University of East Anglia (UEA), did a retrospective analysis of more than 70,000 adult echocardiograms taken over a decade at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
Researchers found that 34% were poor quality.
Patients with lung disease were twice as likely to have poor quality scans.
Other patients who were less likely to have clear scans include: those with heart failure; those already in hospital – also known as inpatients; those with irregular heart rhythms; patients who had undergone previous heart surgery; and patients who had a pacemaker.
Some of these patients may be better off being sent straight for contrast ultrasound or alternative imaging instead.
The research team, which also included experts from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals Foundation Trust, the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre and the University of Leeds, found that if certain patients were sent for alternative tests in the first instance, more than £300,000 could have been saved among the patients examined if they were given the right test the first time.
Lead researcher Dr Pankaj Garg, from the UEA’s Norwich Medical School and a consultant cardiologist at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said: “Heart ultrasound scans – known as echocardiograms – are one of the most common tests used in the NHS.
“They are usually the first test doctors order when someone has breathlessness, suspected heart failure or valve disease.
“But in everyday clinical practice, many of these scans fail because they don’t produce clear images.
“Doctors are then forced to repeat the test or order more expensive scans, delaying diagnosis and increasing costs.”
He added: “We found that 34% of the scans were limited or non-diagnostic, particularly in patients with lung disease, heart failure, irregular heart rhythms or previous cardiac surgery.
“This means that thousands of patients leave appointments without clear answers – despite having undergone what is supposed to be the NHS’s frontline heart test.
“Our research shows that in the NHS it may be possible to predict, before a patient even enters the heart-scanning room, whether a routine heart ultrasound is likely to produce clear or difficult-to-read images.
“By combining simple patient information with smart computer analysis, we uncovered hidden clues linked to scan quality.
“This could help NHS teams plan scans more effectively, reduce repeat appointments, speed up diagnosis, and make heart imaging more reliable for patients.”
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “These findings should not put off anyone from attending an appointment for an echocardiogram.
“Echocardiograms remain vital tests that help doctors make heart diagnoses, determine how well the heart is working and identify when someone needs potentially lifesaving treatment for heart disease.
“This study was limited to a single hospital trust so we don’t know if the results would be replicated across the country. More research is needed.”