Over 400 with heart valve condition dying each year on NHS waiting list, research finds

Exclusive: Survey shows 8% of people in UK with aortic stenosis die because they cannot get life-saving procedure quickly enough‘She was so fit, so well’: the heart patient who died before getting vital surgeryHundreds of patients with a deadly heart condition are dying every year while stuck on an NHS waiting list amid long delays for life-saving treatment, research reveals.About 300,000 people across the UK have aortic stenosis (AS), a serious but symptomless disease that weakens the heart’s aortic valve, which helps push blood around the body. Although AS is often fatal, if detected and treated early, patients survive and regain a normal life.A death rate as high as 20% at some hospitals which perform Tavi.The average waiting time for the procedure across the UK is 142 days – over 20 weeks – even though those with severe AS have a 50% risk of dying.White patients are more likely to undergo Tavi than those from ethnic minorities. Continue reading...