A SPECIALIST heart doctor from Worcestershire’s hospitals will lead a research project to try to identify those at risk of rare, life-threatening heart conditions and get them a diagnosis and treatment earlier.
Consultant cardiologist, Dr David Wilson has received a grant from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, to set up specialist heart screening clinics in Worcestershire to spot people who could develop Transthyretin Amyloidosis Cardiomyopathy sooner.
It is hoped that identifying those most at risk of the condition can lead to an earlier diagnosis and more timely and effective treatment.
Transthyretin Amyloidosis Cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) was previously considered untreatable and can lead to progressive heart failure or death if left undiagnosed.
Dr Wilson, who is from Malvern, will be using a digital platform called TriNetX 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 ATTR-CM.
The TriNetX system is used at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to enable its researchers to identify patients eligible for clinical trials through advanced searches of anonymised hospital electronic records.
Those patients are then invited to a specialist screening clinic for further testing, which includes an ECG recording, echocardiogram, blood and urine tests, and a full clinical history and examination.
If this initial assessment suggests the possibility of ATTR-CM, the patient will be referred to the West Midlands Amyloid Service for confirmation testing, early treatment, and potential enrolment in further clinical trials.
“This grant allows us to carry out this research into ATTR-CM which has the potential to bring transformational benefits to patients with earlier diagnosis and therefore earlier and more effective treatment against this life-threatening condition,” said Dr Wilson.
