Figures reveal a high rate of heart failure in Northumberland

Patients in the Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group have one of the highest rates of heart failure in the country, according to new figures from Public Health England.
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There were 3,756 people living with the condition in 2016-17, the most recent period for which data has been released. It means heart failure affected 1,161 in every 100,000 patients on doctors’ books, the 13th-highest rate in England.

It represents a 32% increase on the rate for patients in the Northumberland CCG in 2009-10, when data was first recorded.

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Heart failure is a condition where the heart is unable to pump blood around the body properly. It is most commonly caused by a heart attack.

It is the only major cardiovascular disease – meaning those relating to the heart and blood vessels – which is becoming more common. The condition costs the NHS over £2billion a year.

A spokesperson for NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “These figures are what we would expect to see with an ageing population and we have a long history in Northumberland of proactively identifying people with long-term conditions such as heart failure, and as a result we have a high recorded prevalence.

“We are also fortunate that in Northumberland GPs are able to refer directly for hospital-based investigations, which helps in the timely and accurate diagnosis of such conditions.

“We are constantly developing our care pathways to diagnose and treat heart related conditions.”