Good News for Cardiac Patients!
Dr Nigel Stephens charmed his audience at our March meeting, talking about the Cardiology Department at Northwick Park Hospital, which he has led for 13 whirlwind years of change.
He noted that before 1961 there were no visual pictures to assist cardiologists, so little could be done to help patients. However, in the USA between 1959-61, there were major advances with the development of angiograms, open-heart surgery and heart-lung machines. By 1976 balloons were being introduced into arteries and ten of the early patients are still alive today. By 1988 the first coronary stent was introduced, a flexible tube supporting the artery and this technique is still in use today.
The last five years have seen even more advances, with more emphasis on speedy treatment and primary angioplasty now the favoured method of combating heart attacks. As a result there is now only a 5% chance of dying during a heart attack compared with a 20% chance only a few years ago.
At Northwick Park, angioplasty was introduced in 2002 in an exclusively consultant service. It has had outcomes second to none, with a total of over 2000 patients treated.
Heart failure used to be a cinderella discipline but cardiac resynchronisation can now transform life for some patients and 50 cases have received that treatment at Northwick Park.
However there is no open-heart surgery or heart transplants at that hospital.
Over the last five years national waiting–time targets have led to many improvements. In 2004 16 people waited 18 weeks for treatment – in contrast today 230 people are waiting barely six weeks - and the wait for angiograms is only three weeks.
Surprisingly, although many people go to A&E departments with chest pain, only five in a 100 cases are due to serious conditions - and today, new A&E technology can identify which of these are heart attack cases needing urgent treatment.
Dr Stephens talk was entitled “Good news for cardiac patients”. We came away convinced that this was an apt title.
Joan
He noted that before 1961 there were no visual pictures to assist cardiologists, so little could be done to help patients. However, in the USA between 1959-61, there were major advances with the development of angiograms, open-heart surgery and heart-lung machines. By 1976 balloons were being introduced into arteries and ten of the early patients are still alive today. By 1988 the first coronary stent was introduced, a flexible tube supporting the artery and this technique is still in use today.
The last five years have seen even more advances, with more emphasis on speedy treatment and primary angioplasty now the favoured method of combating heart attacks. As a result there is now only a 5% chance of dying during a heart attack compared with a 20% chance only a few years ago.
At Northwick Park, angioplasty was introduced in 2002 in an exclusively consultant service. It has had outcomes second to none, with a total of over 2000 patients treated.
Heart failure used to be a cinderella discipline but cardiac resynchronisation can now transform life for some patients and 50 cases have received that treatment at Northwick Park.
However there is no open-heart surgery or heart transplants at that hospital.
Over the last five years national waiting–time targets have led to many improvements. In 2004 16 people waited 18 weeks for treatment – in contrast today 230 people are waiting barely six weeks - and the wait for angiograms is only three weeks.
Surprisingly, although many people go to A&E departments with chest pain, only five in a 100 cases are due to serious conditions - and today, new A&E technology can identify which of these are heart attack cases needing urgent treatment.
Dr Stephens talk was entitled “Good news for cardiac patients”. We came away convinced that this was an apt title.
Joan
posted by Community Voice at
1:54 am
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