300,000 people suffering from potentially fatal heart disease ‘with third unaware of it’
Condition often remains silent and symptoms only emerge when disease is already advanced
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An estimated 300,000 people in the UK have a potentially fatal heart disease, with a third of those likely unaware they have the “silent” condition, new research has found.
Aortic valve stenosis is a progressive and potentially fatal condition and over half of those with the advanced disease will likely die within five years without timely treatment.
The disease causes the main outflow valve of the heart to stiffen and narrow, reducing or blocking blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body.
In a significant proportion of patients, the condition remains silent and symptoms only emerge when the disease is already advanced.
According to new research, an estimated 300,000 people are living with the disease. Nearly a third of those cases - 92,389 people - have a “silent” version of the condition, which has limited symptoms.
Those people will only have the disease picked up if they are proactively screened for it or are undergoing tests for another heart problems, scientists have warned.
Some 35,000 people will die every year from aortic valve stenosis if they are not treated promptly enough, the research, published in the journal Open Heart, suggested.
Over the next five years, nearly 10,000 of these deaths are estimated to be among 55-64 year olds, around 30,000 among 65-74 year olds and 87,000 among 75-84 year olds. A further 48,000 over 85s will die from the condition, the study predicts.
The authors concluded that their study suggested that “severe aortic valve stenosis is a common condition affecting many individuals within the UK population aged 55 or over. Without appropriate detection and intervention, their survival prospects are likely to be poor.”
They also said that the predicted burden of the disease on the NHS is likely to be higher than the capacity the health service has to deal with it.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments