NHS heart failure survival rates on the rise, study shows

More NHS patients are surviving heart failure due to improvements in the quality of care, according to a new study.

The research was based on data from the National Heart Failure Audit, which analysed 66,695 admissions for heart failure to English and Welsh hospitals where the patient’s main diagnosis was heart failure. It was found that the mortality rate among these patients dropped from 9.6 percent to 8.9 percent compared to 2014-15.

This equates to around 500 lives saved, which was attributed to more people being provided with crucial medicines for heart disease, as well as greater access to treatment by heart specialists.

It was also shown that nine in ten patients admitted to hospital received an echocardiogram – the key diagnostic test in heart failure conditions – while 80 percent of patients reporting heart failure at hospitals in England and Wales were seen by specialists.

Sir Bruce Keogh, national medical director at NHS England, said: "It is a very significant problem and we recognise that there is scope for even more improvement, but the progress highlighted today will be a spur for us to do even more to improve care and survival rates."

This independent study represented the largest audit of its kind to date, drawing data from 82 percent of all heart failure admissions in England and 77 percent of those in Wales.

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