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Pathway transformation and heart failure: the role of the laboratory

A recent report, commissioned by Pumping Marvellous and Roche, provided surprising statistics on the diagnosis of heart failure. Carly Schott discusses key findings and the pivotal role laboratories play in the patient pathway.

The role of pathologists and laboratory scientists is crucial, for patients to be diagnosed, for clinicians to manage their treatment, and for enabling the flow of patients through hospitals. Working in a laboratory can sometimes feel somewhat removed from the NHS frontline where healthcare professionals manage patients across the pathway every day. However, in many ways, laboratories are the central, consistent point on any patient journey. Now, more than ever, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic has placed diagnostic testing at the forefront of public consciousness, and the critical role of laboratories has been thrust into the spotlight.

Coronavirus and COVID-19 disease have compelled the NHS to reconfigure services like never before,1 with many services – especially laboratory testing – having to change to accommodate the deluge of coronavirus and COVID-19 testing, the volume of which looks likely only to keep increasing. The fallout from this reconfiguration is impacting a number of pathways, but the effect on cardiovascular disease is a particular cause for concern.2 Not only has the risk of developing heart failure increased as a result of COVID-19,3 patients with heart failure are at an increased risk of health complications due to SARS-CoV-2 infection and experience worse outcomes.4

While we have realised the value of testing in dealing with the pandemic, what about testing for the impact of COVID-19 on heart health? I have been working on a new report entitled Heart Failure: The Hidden Costs of Late Diagnosis5 in collaboration with the Pumping Marvellous Foundation, the UK’s leading patient-led heart failure charity. It has involved analysing NHS HES data from 2018/19, and 625 responses to a survey of patients about the diagnostic pathway for heart failure.

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Upcoming Events

USCAP 113th Annual Meeting

Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
23-28 March, 2024

Pathology Horizons 2024

MacDonald Bath Spa Hotel, Bath
18-20 April, 2024

Diagnostics North East Conference 2024

The Catalyst, Newcastle upon Tyne
19 April, 2024

ECCMID 2024 - European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

Fira Gran Via, 08038 Barcelona, Spain
27-30 April 2024

British Society for Microbial Technology Annual Microbiology Conference

UK Health Security Agency, Colindale, London
2 May 2024

EQA Reports: Interpreting Key Information & Troubleshooting Tips

ONLINE - Zoom
Thursday 16th May 2024

Access the latest issue of Pathology In Practice on your mobile device together with an archive of back issues.

Download the FREE Pathology In Practice app from your device's App store

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