Study finds poor follow-up care causing unnecessary deaths

According to a study published in the European Heart Journal, thousands of deaths are occurring each year, following heart attacks, as a result of poor NHS aftercare.

The study found that six in seven of the 40,000 heart attack patients a year miss out on treatments which have been proven to reduce the risk of a second attack. The report suggests that such failures have led to 33,000 avoidable deaths between 2002 and 2013, in England and Wales.

Commenting on the findings, Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This study shows that many people in the UK are receiving suboptimal care after a heart attack and that lives are being lost as a consequence. Applying clinical guidelines in heart disease costs little and in the long-term saves money and, most importantly, saves lives.”

The study was conducted by academics from Leeds University and University College London, and involved examining the data of the 40,000 people per year who have the most common form of heart attack, a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).

There researchers looked at data from the national heart attack register and identified what treatment was received in 389,057 cases of NSTEMI during 2003-13. It found that 87 per cent of patients did not receive at leat one of the 13 treatments or pieces of advice which should be offered. In particular 68 per cent missed out on interventions such as dietary advice, with 88 per cent missing out on quit smoking advice.

The authors concluded: “Such deficits in care, cumulatively, were significantly associated with many premature cardiovascular deaths when compared with patients who were eligible for and received guideline-indicated care,.”

Responding to the findings, Professor Huon Gray, NHS England’s national clinical director for heart disease, said: “Immediate and long-term survival rates after a heart attack are improving thanks to advances in treatment and aftercare, but this study shows there are opportunities to improve outcomes further. National and international guidelines are clear, and these findings should act as a reminder to providers and commissioners of care that best practice should always be followed.”