About 300,000 in UK have potentially deadly aortic valve condition, study finds

The first major study to estimate the prevalence of a potentially deadly heart condition found that almost 300,000 people in the UK have it.

Over the next few years, the number of people needing treatment for this will rise and the National Health Service will struggle to cope.

If they didn't have timely, proactive treatment, more than half of those with advanced forms of the disease would die within five years. Their findings were published in a journal.

Aortic stenosis happens when the main outflow valve of the heart stiffens. It can no longer open completely, which means it can no longer supply blood to the rest of the body.

Only when it is already at an advanced stage does the condition appear. It is thought that there may be a large pool of people who could benefit from life-saving treatment.

Researchers from the University of Glasgow and the University of Notre Dame Australia were among those involved in the study.

This is the first study to estimate the treatable burden of disease associated with severe, symptomatic AS within the UK population. The current capacity within the health service to screen, detect, and treat such cases is far less than that of an indicative burden.

The researchers estimated that the prevalence of the condition among the over 55s in the UK was close to 1.5%, which is roughly 300,000 people living with the potentially deadly condition at any one time.

According to the study, 199,000 had severe disease in 2019. Almost a third of all cases would probably not be diagnosed unless they were being screened for a heart problem, the researchers suggested.

The condition can cause chest pain, dizziness, lightheadedness, and even fainting, if someone has it, but they may not experience any symptoms at first.

Life-threatening problems such as heart failure can be caused by the condition. If the symptoms get worse, patients need to have the valve replaced. Severe aortic valve disease is likely to get worse without treatment.

The researchers advised that the data on the incidence and prevalence of aortic stenosis in the UK was insufficient and that their findings should be taken with a grain of salt.

The study suggests that severe AS is a common condition affecting many people over the age of 55.