Mike Weatherley, the Conservative MP for Hove and Portslade, joined patients and clinicians at a Parliamentary reception on heart disease, where he signed up to the Heart Failure Pledge.
Following the reception, the Heart Failure Pledge was delivered to the Department of Health. Mike was surprised to learn that if left untreated, heart failure has a survival rate similar to cancer – with over a third of patients dying within one year of diagnosis.
He said:
“It was really useful to meet with medical professionals to discuss issues surrounding heart failure and how it affects a huge number of people across the country, including many of my constituents. It is vital, therefore, that awareness of the disease is improved, as well as access to life-saving treatments.”
The Pledge reads:
“Heart failure affects 3 in very hundred women and 4 in every hundred men. Untreated, over a third die within a year of diagnosis. The UK needs to do better on heart failure to improve outcomes for patients.
“We should not leave heart failure suffers waiting to die. More should be done to improve patients’ quality of lives; better manage their condition to reduce unnecessary hospitalisations and save the NHS money; and help mortality from heart failure. Many people with heart failure also suffer from abnormal rhythms in their heart which can prove fatal. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) jolt the heart back into its natural rhythm when it goes out of rhythm. Cardiac resynchronisation therapy devices (CRT-Ds) help pace the heart to enable it to pump blood more efficiently and include a defibrillation function, offering protection from sudden cardiac death.
“We fully support efforts to raise awareness of heart failure and efforts to improve patient access to the latest cost effective medical technology for treating heart failure including ICDs and CRT-Ds.”
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