UK Predicts Rise in Heart Valve Surgeries

With nearly four million people in the UK aged between 75 and 84, experts are predicting a valvular heart disease (VHD) epidemic within a few years. VHD can be attributed to the stretching, tearing, and loss of valve flexibility that can come with aging.

A recent audit showed a sharp increase in all types of valve surgeries, and the BBC reports that surgeons say that these surgeries now make up 40% of their workload.

Medical experts quoted by the BBC believe that the UK is ill-equipped to deal with a VHD epidemic. Unlike health programs for heart failure and coronary disease, valve disease is not as are not given as much attention.

According to Ben Bridgewater, a heart surgeon at South Manchester University Hospital, specialist centers need to be set-up, staffed with heart valve specialists, had be given to screening tests and equipment for this particular type of heart disease.

Source: BBC News