Assessing and treating heart disease often involves invasive procedures like stenting, which can be excessive for certain patients.
Current angiogram methods may sometimes misinterpret partial artery blockages, leading to unnecessary interventions.
A research team led by Dr. Hazel Arfah Haley at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust demonstrated the effectiveness of VIRTUHeart technology, which creates 3D computer models of blood flow through a patient’s heart arteries.
In a trial involving doctors treating heart attack patients, the study found that VIRTUHeart’s enhanced imaging could have altered the treatment of more than 20% of patients, potentially avoiding invasive procedures like stent placement.
The study encompassed 208 patients hospitalized with an NSTEMI type of heart attack, where the affected coronary artery isn’t completely blocked. All these patients had their coronary arteries reconstructed using VIRTUHeart.
The Findings
Once patients had been treated, the researchers presented the virtual blood vessel models to their doctors. The findings showed that using VIRTUHeart could have changed how doctors treated 46 patients (22%).
Among these, 21 patients who underwent an invasive procedure like stenting could have been treated with medication only, if VIRTUHeart had been used to plan their treatment.
Overall, the use of VIRTUHeart in treatment planning could have led to 42 fewer stents being placed—a decrease of 18%.
Significance
The VIRTUHeart system, developed by the University of Sheffield in collaboration with the Insigneo Institute and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, offers significant promise for improving heart disease assessment and treatment.
By providing a detailed view of blood vessels and flow, this technology could help doctors deliver more personalized and less invasive treatment options, saving time and resources.
The researchers aim to have VIRTUHeart in use within the NHS in as little as three years and are currently examining its potential effect on waiting lists.
Further studies are also being undertaken to determine whether VIRTUHeart could enhance treatment for people with another common heart condition called angina, with the aim of ensuring more patients receive the right treatment the first time around.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies about chronic itch linked to heart disease, and yogurt may help lower the death risks in heart disease.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how magnesium helps protect your heart rhythm, and results showing honey could help control blood sugar.
Copyright © 2023 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
