Cardiovascular medicine - Special interest

The majority of new diagnoses of heart failure (HF) are made only after the patient has deteriorated to the point of requiring hospital admission. Within a month of admission with HF, 1 in 4 patients who survive to discharge will be readmitted, and 1 in 8 will die. Ischaemic heart disease is the most common cause of HF, accounting for at least half of diagnoses: following a heart attack, 1 in 3 patients will develop HF within 5 years. Hypertension, diabetes and obesity are also associated with an increased risk of HF.

Around 40% of people experience a syncopal event during their lifetime. Cardiac syncope accounts for 10% of presentations. Incidence rises significantly with age. Assessment should be systematic: a thorough history, physical examination including lying and standing BP and 12-lead ECG. The medical history and physical examination are key. If following initial assessment cardiac syncope is suspected patients should be referred for urgent specialist cardiovascular assessment or emergency admission.

Cardiac rehabilitation is a combination of medical and behavioural interventions designed to facilitate recovery and prevent future cardiovascular disease events. A cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation programme (CPRP) is a critical element within the management pathway for most patients with heart disease and has a particularly strong evidence base for those with either symptomatic atherothrombotic vascular disease or heart failure. Following acute MI and/or coronary revascularisation, attending and completing a CPRP is associated with an absolute risk reduction in cardiovascular mortality from 10.4% to 7.6%.

Syncope is a transient loss of consciousness (T-LOC) caused by cerebral hypoperfusion, characterised by a rapid onset, short duration and spontaneous complete recovery. It needs to be differentiated from other conditions that can cause T-LOC such as seizures, trauma, hypoglycaemia, and psychogenic causes. Three principal types of syncope can be identified: reflex or neurally mediated, orthostatic hypotensive and cardiac. The common denominator of all these conditions is low systemic BP causing global cerebral hypoperfusion.

Heart disease in children and adolescents can be congenital, in which structural defects of the heart and major blood vessels are present from birth, acquired, whereby disease develops during life, or genetic, including diseases affecting the heart muscle, electrical system or the aorta. The incidence of congenital heart disease has decreased over the past 30 years, with approximately 1 in 180 babies born with congenital heart disease in the UK each year. Several cardiac diseases are genetic and can manifest in childhood. Most are primary cardiomyopathies, ion channel diseases, coronary artery disease from familial hypercholesterolaemia or aortopathies.

Hypertension is the most common medical complication of pregnancy, affecting 8-10% of pregnancies in the UK. It is associated with risks to both the woman and the fetus, with increased risks of pre-eclampsia, preterm delivery, fetal growth restriction, placental abruption and perinatal death. Any new onset of hypertension after 20 weeks or symptoms or signs suspicious of pre-eclampsia should be referred for same day assessment at a secondary care antenatal assessment unit.