Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of funding levels for research into the (a) detection and (b) treatment of heart valve disease.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR continues to welcome high quality applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including the detection and treatment of heart valve disease.
The NIHR invested a total award value of £3.4 million of funding for six research studies that focus on heart valve disease, active in the five years from April 2019 to March 2024, directly through its research programmes.
The NIHR also works closely with other Government funders, including UK Research and Innovation, which is funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and includes the Medical Research Council, to fund research into a range of conditions, including heart valve disease, to improve detection and treatments and prevent poor health outcomes for patients.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the cost to the public purse was of Government funding of valvular disease research in 2023-24; and which public bodies provided that funding.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) funds medical research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Between 2019/20 – 2023/24, the NIHR has invested £145.4 million on cardiovascular disease and stroke research directly through NIHR research programmes.
UKRI delivers a substantial portfolio of researcher-led projects. UKRI’s Medical Research Council (MRC) also plays a key role in funding underpinning research which may not be attributable to a specific condition but will benefit medical research more generally.
In 2024 MRC established a new Centre of Research Excellence (MRC CoRE), co-funded with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) called the MRC/BHF CoRE in Advanced Cardiac Therapies, which will receive up to £50 million over 14 years. The Centre will focus on developing gene therapies for heart disease, including aiming to develop the first therapies to stimulate heart repair and regeneration. The new MRC CoRE funding model aims to support transformative approaches in biomedical and health research.
Details of UKRI and NIHR funding on specific areas is provided in the table below:
| NIHR funding in FY 2023/24 | UKRI Funding in FY 2023/24 |
Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy | NIHR did not commit any specific funding for obstructive cardiomyopathy research in the 2023-24. | UKRI did not commit any specific funding for obstructive cardiomyopathy research in 2023-24. |
dilated cardiomyopathy research | NIHR did not commit any specific funding for dilated cardiomyopathy research in 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for dilated cardiomyopathy research was £1,450,025 for 2 awards (1 award from MRC; 1 award from centrally managed UKRI schemes). |
valvular disease research | NIHR allocated £4,535,107 for research concerning valvular disease research in 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for valvular disease research was £207,336 for 1 award (from MRC). |
myocarditis | NIHR did not commit any specific funding for myocarditis research in 2023-24. | UKRI did not commit any specific funding for Myocarditis research in 2023-24. |
heart failure research | NIHR allocated £41,442,113 research concerning heart failure research in 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for heart failure research was £9,893,934 for 20 awards (8 awards from Innovate UK; 4 awards from MRC, 8 awards from centrally managed UKRI schemes, etc), including investigations using AI techniques to develop personalised treatments for heart failure. |
congenital heart disease | NIHR allocated £1,227,966 research concerning congenital heart disease research in 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for congenital heart disease research was £597,157 for 1 award (from BBSRC). |
coronary heart disease | NIHR allocated £10,722,571 research concerning coronary heart disease research in 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for coronary heart disease research was £2,234,898 for 3 awards (2 awards from Innovate UK; 1 award from EPSRC). |
ST-elevation myocardial infarction | NIHR did not commit any specific funding for ST-elevation myocardial infarction research in 2023-24. | UKRI did not commit any specific funding for ST-elevation myocardial infarction research in 2023-24. |
non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction | NIHR did not commit any specific funding for non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction research in 2023-24. | UKRI did not commit any specific funding for non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction research in 2023-24. |
heart block | NIHR allocated £24,667,421 for research concerning heart block in 2023-24. | UKRI did not commit any specific funding for non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction research in 2023-24. |
atrial fibrillation | NIHR allocated £3,270,356 for research concerning atrial fibrillation in 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for atrial fibrillation research was £6,799,271 for 8 awards (1 award from Innovate UK; 2 awards from EPSRC, 5 awards from centrally managed UKRI schemes). |
hypertension | NIHR allocated £30,552,736 for research concerning hypertension in 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for hypertension research was £8,311,971 for 12 awards (1 award from Innovate UK; 5 awards from MRC, 6 awards from centrally managed UKRI schemes) including the investigation of medical devices for remote monitoring. |
aortic aneurysm | NIHR allocated £2,833,223 for research concerning aortic aneurysm in 2023-24. | The total commitment across UKRI in 2023-24 for aortic aneurysm research was £1,470,668 for 2 awards (1 award from Innovate UK; 1 award from centrally managed UKRI schemes) |
aortic dissection | NIHR allocated £2,833,223 research concerning aortic dissection research in financial year 2023-24. | UKRI did not commit any specific funding for aortic dissection research in 2023-24. |
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure early identification of cardiac problems in young people.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
NHS England has published a suite of national service specifications and standards for Paediatric Cardiac Services, which define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of congenital cardiac problems in young people, with congenital heart disease constituting the bulk of paediatric cardiac cases. The specifications and standards cover all Paediatric Cardiac activity, including surgery and cardiology, taking place in the Specialist Children’s Surgical Centres, Specialist Children’s Cardiology Centres, and Local Children's Cardiac Centres, including activity undertaken by the Specialist Centres on an outreach basis where it is delivered as part of a provider network, with the aim of ensuring all patient care is of a consistent high quality.
NHS England has also published a national service specification for Inherited Cardiac Conditions (ICC), which covers young adults. The aim of ICC services is to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of patients with inherited cardiac conditions. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification, working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of the review, including clinical experts in the National Health Service, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice and the British Heart Foundation.
The Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme also sets out standards for antenatal screening by ultrasound of serious congenital abnormalities, including which abnormalities should be screened for and expected detection rates, with 68% of serious abnormalities detected antenatally.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce trends in the level of sudden cardiac death amongst (a) school and (b) university aged young people.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2017, NHS England published a national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions (ICC), which defines the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England. This specification covers young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease. The aim of ICC services is to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of patients with ICCs. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification, working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of the review, including NHS clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice, and the British Heart Foundation.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of sudden deaths in young people due to undiagnosed heart conditions.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
NHS England published a national service specification for Inherited Cardiac Conditions (ICC) in 2017, which defines the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England. This specification covers young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease. The aim of the ICC services is to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of patients with inherited cardiac conditions. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification, working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of the review, including National Health Service clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice, and the British Heart Foundation.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote earlier detection and diagnosis of heart valve disease in women and to ensure better outcomes.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Heart valve disease (HVD) affects over 1.5 million people over the age of 65 years old in the United Kingdom, and this number is expected to increase in line with general population growth and the increase in the number of older people. Continuous improvements have been made in the HVD pathway for service users, but there remains unwarranted variation and inequalities in gender.
A review of health inequalities for all specialised cardiac services, including aortic stenosis services, a type of HVD, is currently being undertaken. This will specifically consider the presentation of males versus females with aortic stenosis. In addition, work to improve HVD outcomes includes:
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the care and treatment for heart valve disease patients.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Heart valve disease (HVD) care in the United Kingdom has made strides in addressing treatment gaps, yet challenges such as late diagnosis, health disparities, and regional variations in care persist. NHS England is driving initiatives to improve pathways, reduce inequalities, and enhance access to timely and equitable care, while also addressing broader elective care pressures.
Significant progress is being made in the care and treatment of HVD patients in the UK. NHS England has established an expert advisory group to drive targeted pathway improvement projects, aiming to reduce referral-to-treatment times for severe valvular disease in 2024/25. Referral rates for cardiac rehabilitation have improved notably, rising from 7% in 2019 to 15% in 2024. Over 80% of heart failure patients consistently receive care from specialist teams, reflecting steady progress in specialist access.
Efforts to address health inequalities are also advancing, including a review of disparities in the presentation and treatment of conditions like aortic stenosis, and updates to primary care eLearning to improve early diagnosis. These strides demonstrate our commitment to improving outcomes in HVD care.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase the availability of heart valve surgery for (a) women and (b) ethnic minorities.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
NHS England continues to work with its partners in raising awareness of aortic stenosis, with a particular focus on women. NHS England is also working to increase access to cardiac surgery. The breathlessness pathway, launched in April 2023, encourages general practitioners to examine all patients for the signs of valvular heart disease. Heart valve disease is a focus for cardiac networks, with pathways in in place to improve early detection of valve disease in the community.
In November 2023, a dedicated Heart Valve Disease (HVD) Expert Advisory Group was convened to provide NHS England’s Cardiac Transformation Programme with leadership, advice, quality assurance, expert review, and endorsement of the projects and deliverables that comprise the HVD workstream, with a focus on improving the speed and equity of access to high quality treatment for heart valve patients.
To improve the early detection and diagnosis of heart valve disease across England, including aortic stenosis, £2.3 billion has been committed to open 160 community diagnostic centres by March 2025. This will increase the volume of diagnostic activity and further reduce patient waiting times. The centres have delivered over 5 million additional tests since July 2021, including those that detect cardiovascular disease.
In addition, the National Health Service is investing in cardiac networks to support whole pathway improvements. These networks have been developed to take an evidenced based, clinically led, whole pathway approach to improvement, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and through to end-of-life care.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase awareness of the symptoms of heart valve disease in women.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
NHS England continues to work with its partners in raising awareness of aortic stenosis, with a particular focus on women. NHS England is also working to increase access to cardiac surgery. The breathlessness pathway, launched in April 2023, encourages general practitioners to examine all patients for the signs of valvular heart disease. Heart valve disease is a focus for cardiac networks, with pathways in in place to improve early detection of valve disease in the community.
In November 2023, a dedicated Heart Valve Disease (HVD) Expert Advisory Group was convened to provide NHS England’s Cardiac Transformation Programme with leadership, advice, quality assurance, expert review, and endorsement of the projects and deliverables that comprise the HVD workstream, with a focus on improving the speed and equity of access to high quality treatment for heart valve patients.
To improve the early detection and diagnosis of heart valve disease across England, including aortic stenosis, £2.3 billion has been committed to open 160 community diagnostic centres by March 2025. This will increase the volume of diagnostic activity and further reduce patient waiting times. The centres have delivered over 5 million additional tests since July 2021, including those that detect cardiovascular disease.
In addition, the National Health Service is investing in cardiac networks to support whole pathway improvements. These networks have been developed to take an evidenced based, clinically led, whole pathway approach to improvement, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and through to end-of-life care.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to tackle disparities in access to medical treatment for heart valve disease.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
In the development of the Major Conditions Strategy, we are committed to focusing on the six major groups, which includes cardiovascular disease. As part of the policy development process, the Major Conditions Strategy will consider the full range of health disparities that may be experienced by different groups, including ethnic and gender disparities.