HEART specialists in Bradford are trialling a new egg-timer shaped device that could improve quality of life for angina sufferers worldwide.

Cardiologists at Bradford Royal Infirmary are taking part in a new international study backing a novel and effective treatment for patients with refractory angina who are difficult to treat and cannot be helped by the more conventional options like bypass operations.

Angina affects about two million people in the UK and about 20,000 people experience angina for the first time every year.

The condition is a severe chest pain that happens when the blood supply to the muscles of the heart is restricted, usually because the arteries to the heart have become hardened and narrowed.

The pain and discomfort of angina feels like a dull, heavy or tight pain in the chest that sometimes spreads to the left arm, neck, jaw or back, the attacks are usually brought on by physical activity or stress and typically last for a few minutes.

There have been 12 procedures so far in Bradford using the new Coronary Sinus Reducer System as part of the study being led in the UK by King’s College Hospital in London.

Trials are also taking part in other NHS hospitals in the capital as well as in Edinburgh to demonstrate how the life-changing device can improve blood flow to the heart muscle, relieving angina symptoms.

Bradford Teaching Hospital consultant cardiologists, Dr Steven Lindsay and Dr Paul Sainsbury, who were UK authors on the international trial, are carrying out the Bradford procedures which involve an egg-timer shaped metal mesh device mounted on a balloon catheter being inserted into the collection of veins that helps drain blood from the heart muscle.

After the device is fitted and expanded, the blood drainage from the heart is changed in such a way that the heart muscle is able to work more efficiently because the blood flows better.

Dr Lindsay said: “This treatment is a very encouraging step forward for patients with angina who previously would not have been suitable for bypass operations or angioplasty. It is also an excellent example of the NHS leading international innovation into new treatments for patients.

“Here in Bradford, we have a dedicated clinical service for patients with what is termed refractory angina.

"We are one of the few hospitals that have such a service and this technique is another addition to the range of options we can offer patients with this disabling condition.

"We take referrals for them from across West Yorkshire, Calderdale and Sheffield - about two thirds of the 150 patients treated here in Bradford with refractory angina in Bradford are from the city itself."

He added: "We are excited about the device because for a proportion of patients treated with it there is a marked impact on their symptoms. We have got more patients on the list to come in and have the procedure done."

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Dr Lindsay said the company which makes the mesh device has now been in touch interested in starting a larger study to find out if it could help reduce the risk of heart attacks.

Although angina itself is not life-threatening it can be completely debilitating for some people, depriving them of a quality of life.

"It isn't angina that will cause someone's death but it is part of heart disease and in turn that disease could eventually cause a heart attack that could bring about death," he said.

"For some people angina can be an unpleasant symptom and they can live with it but for others it can severely limit their quality of life. It can be debilitating.

"For various reasons for some people bypasses or stents just don't work or improve that quality of life for patients who are difficult to treat this way, it could be because their arteries are completely furred and their condition can't be controlled conventionally."

Dr Lindsay stressed that more research needed to be done to assess the long-term benefits of the procedure.

He said: "This has been just a small study. It shows us a trend that reduced symptoms and improves quality of life in a proportion of people who have had the procedure but if we wanted to find out if it also had an impact on anything else like reducing heart attacks we would need to do more research."

The UK arm of the study has been supported by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) as angina is the most common symptom of coronary heart disease - the UK's biggest killer, causing 82,000 deaths each year.

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