Everton in the Community's mass heart screening event helps detect over 30 cases

Everton in the Community recently hosted a mass heart screening event at Goodison Park as part of its ongoing work with its Breathlessness Hub, which has detected 30 potential heart failure cases to date.

In partnership with Pumping Marvellous, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Us2.ai and LumiraDx, the Everton official charity offered free heart health checks to local residents aged 40 and over in order to help identify suspected cardiovascular conditions and enable people to receive earlier diagnosis and treatment.

Almost 950 people attended EitC’s mass heart screening event, at which more than 20 per cent of attendees were identified as symptomatic of heart failure using the BEAT acronym – Breathless, Exhausted, Ankle Swelling and Time for a blood test. Following this, over 200 people received a NT-proBNP test which is used to determine how well the heart is able to pump blood around the body.

Of those, 16 individuals had elevated NT-proBNP levels which can indicate the presence of heart failure. Subsequently, these patients either received an echocardiogram at the event or were referred for an urgent echocardiogram at the charity’s unique heart and lung screening hub.

Further to this, a significant number of people were identified with high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation – which is a condition that causes an irregular and often fast heartbeat. By detecting these conditions earlier on, EitC has helped to prevent these patients from potential strokes and heart failure whilst contributing to significant savings for the NHS.

Everton in the Community Club Ambassador, Graham Stuart at EitC’s mass heart screening event

The success of the mass heart screening event encompasses EitC’s continued work with its Breathlessness Hub. Situated in the charity’s mental health and wellbeing hub, The People’s Place and funded by AstraZeneca, the charity’s life-saving service offers early diagnosis and treatment for heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other chronic conditions to the local community and patients signposted by their local GP.

Following its launch in spring, EitC has provided significant support for hundreds of individuals suffering from chronic breathlessness at the hub and through its mass heart screening event. To date, the charity has screened 1,085 people and detected 30 potential heart failure cases. Also, 27 patients have received a spirometry appointment, which measures how much air you can breathe in and out of your lungs and an additional 100 individuals have been scheduled in for a spirometry test in the coming weeks.

What’s more, 137 patients have received further respiratory investigations at the hub and three patients have been referred on to a virtual ward for their follow-up treatment, saving the NHS approximately £39,720. Virtual wards enable the patient to get the care they need at home safely and conveniently, rather than being in hospital, reducing costs for the NHS and pressure on hospital beds.

In addition, recent survey feedback from those accessing the hub has revealed that 89 per cent of patients preferred their experience at The People’s Place to a clinical hospital setting. The findings also showed that participants also benefitted from the wrap-around support available at the hub, with 33 per cent referred for further emotional and wellbeing support following their breathlessness diagnosis.

The charity’s Breathlessness Hub is England’s first community-based heart and lung screening hub and is leading the way with community health screenings. Heart failure impacts over one million people and in Merseyside, the cases are higher than the national average. The hub facilitates access for all from across the county and provides them with life-changing and lifesaving information about their heart health and treatment options whilst helping to alleviate pressure on the region’s public services.

Jon Jones, Director of Adult Services at Everton in the Community said: “Our recent mass heart screening event was a huge success and with vital support from our partners, we managed to screen almost 950 local residents from across Liverpool and over 200 of those individuals received a NT-proBNP test.”

“The event formed part of our ongoing work with our Breathlessness Hub at The People’s Place. What makes this programme so unique is that the support and screening doesn’t stop after this event, we’ll continue to identify cardiovascular and respiratory issues and give people access to wrap-around services, including mental health and wellbeing support.

“We’ve made great strides so far with our life-saving hub by bringing community health screenings closer to people’s homes, helping to detect and treat heart failure and provide patients with better outcomes.”