An internationally groundbreaking Leeds study has shown how proactive care for pacemaker patients could transform outcomes for hundreds of thousands of people across the UK.
Led by cardiac scientist Dr Maria Paton, a team at NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Leeds found that a simple heart scan, combined with personalised pacemaker settings and specialist heart failure care, could help prevent or manage heart failure in people living with pacemakers.
Over 500,000 people in the UK have a pacemaker and heart failure is more common in this group. Yet pacemaker checks and heart failure care are usually managed separately, meaning chances to improve treatment are often missed.
The findings have already informed international clinical guidelines and national standards, supporting a shift away from “one-size-fits-all” pacing towards personalised treatment. As a result, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust set up a dedicated heart failure and device clinic, where patients receive integrated care in a single visit, helping optimise medication and device settings for the vast majority of patients seen.