Landmark heart failure trial recruits 100th patient
A ground-breaking clinical trial to improve treatment for people with heart failure has recruited its 100th patient.
The £1.8 million trial is funded by the British Heart Foundation.
It is led by Dr Andrew Flett, consultant cardiologist at University Hospital Southampton.
The trial is being co-ordinated by the NIHR Southampton Clinical Trials Unit (SCTU).
Peter’s experience
Peter Dyde, 68, is a retired businessman. He is the 100th patient to join the BRITISH trial.
Last year, Peter was diagnosed with non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy, which can lead to heart failure.
“I never really paid too much attention to my health – I was always more worried about my family,” he said. “But at the end of 2022, I had a couple of chest infections and was feeling a bit breathless, so I thought it was a good idea to go and see my GP.
“He referred me for some tests, and that’s when I got my diagnosis.”
Peter knows all too well the devastation that heart problems can cause. In June 2018, he and his wife Kim lost their eldest daughter Charlotte, aged just 34. She had cardiomyopathy, which affects the heart muscle and can lead to cardiac arrest.
“We were meant to meet up, so I texted her but didn’t get a reply,” he said. “I went over to her house and found her passed away in bed.
“You wonder why something like that should happen to you. But I’ve learnt since that we’re part of such a big club - there are so many people affected by heart conditions.
“It wouldn’t help me to stay in a dark place in life. We can’t help what happened to our family, but we can try and help make things better for others in future.”
Preventing cardiac arrests
It’s estimated that more than one million people in the UK have heart failure, and a further 200,000 people are newly diagnosed every year. Around one third have non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy.
Heart failure means that the heart is unable to pump blood around the body properly. This can cause symptoms such as breathlessness, tiredness and swollen ankles.
People with heart failure are often fitted with a device known as an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
This device monitors the person’s heart rhythm. If it detects any abnormalities, it shocks their heart to return it to a normal rhythm and stop a cardiac arrest.
Identifying the right patients
Currently, patients are assessed to see how well their heart is pumping to determine whether they receive an ICD. But Dr Flett believes this may mean people are being fitted with an ICD who will never benefit.
The BRITISH trial is testing an alternative approach, instead looking at the amount of scar tissue in a patient’s heart.
It aims to recruit 1,250 people with non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy across 35 UK hospitals over the next three years.
The hope is that the results will influence clinical guidelines in the UK and around the world, helping to improve quality of life and survival for people with heart failure.
“Many heart failure patients who have an ICD fitted will never see their device triggered, and studies have found that ICDs don’t improve long-term survival in this group,” explains Dr Flett.
“As well as ensuring that the right people receive ICDs, we want to make sure that heart failure patients are not going through procedures that won’t help to improve their quality of life or survival.”
Becoming the 100th participant
“When my consultant mentioned the BRITISH trial, I just said ‘sign me up’,” says Peter.
As part of the trial, he had an ICD fitted at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester in July.
“The doctors at Glenfield have been brilliant, they’re helping me so much. By taking part in this trial, I’m able to give back to them too,” he says.
“The way I look at it is that by taking part, I could help to save someone else’s loved one, or stop another family going through the same as us. When you think about it like that, there's nothing really to decide.
“Afterwards, they told me I was the 100th person to sign up. I used to play a lot of cricket, so I just replied ‘I’m a centurion’.”