Detecting Heart Valve Disease and Reduced Heart Function Using Cardiac Ultrasound in People Aged 65 and Older in a Diverse London Community

What this Trial Is About

Heart valve disease and heart failure cause a significant number of emergency hospital admissions, especially among people aged 65 and older. These conditions require careful monitoring and treatment to prevent symptoms and reduce early death. This research focuses on a multi-ethnic community to better understand how common these problems are and to improve early detection and management, aiming to reduce emergency hospital visits and improve overall health. The study trains primary care staff who are not heart ultrasound experts to perform a simplified heart ultrasound to detect valve disease or heart failure. These scans will be done opportunistically to limit extra healthcare visits. Experts will review all scans, and anonymized data will be used with academic partners to develop machine learning tools that may improve diagnosis accuracy. Participants aged 65 or older in the community will be scanned and monitored. The study will measure how many people have valve disease or left ventricular dysfunction using cardiac ultrasound over 12 months. Researchers will evaluate the accuracy of the abbreviated ultrasound performed by trained staff. This study supports a program to train community staff, improve referral pathways, and optimize patient care while reducing emergency hospital admissions.

London Valvular Heart Disease and Reduced Ejection Fraction Detection in a Multi-ethnic Community Using Cardiac Ultrasound