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“The patient perspective was a common thread throughout this report.”
Dr. Philippe Pibarot
Heart Valve Disease: Working together to create a better patient journey is a first of its kind report providing a comprehensive view of the heart valve disease patient journey.
The full report spans the journey from awareness and detection through diagnosis, monitoring, treatment and follow-up, identifying gaps. It includes patient stories and recommendations for improving care. The 2-page summary is an overview of the gaps and key recommendations.
Heart Valve Disease: Working together to create a better patient journey provides clear guidance and a road map to reduce the burden of heart disease in years to come.
* Heart Valve Disease: Working together to create a better patient journey
There are opportunities
to improve care across
the whole patient journey, from raising awareness, improving early detection and diagnosis, through to
ensuring timely and
appropriate treatment
and long term follow up
A person experiencing any of these symptoms should see their primary care physician.
Timely detection of heart valve disease through identification of a heart murmur is essential to avoid irreversible heart damage and to improve patient outcomes*.
Many patients in advanced stages of heart valve disease are asymptomtic, which is why regular screening with a stethoscope check is important.
* Heart Valve Disease: Working together to create a better patient journey
Following my experience, I have become an active advocate for raising awareness about heart valve disease and encourage friends to get regular stethoscope checks.
Watch Dave’s StoryThe causes, mechanisms and evolution of heart valve disease differ substantially in women and in men.
Women may develop different symptoms of valve disease. Because of these differences, valve diseases are under detected, under diagnosed, and thus under treated to a greater extent in women*.
* Heart Valve Disease: Working together to create a better patient journey
Actions taken now will reduce the future burden on society in terms of impaired quality of life, avoidable deaths and costs to the health systems.
People are aware of symptoms of heart valvedisease and present to primary care or treating physician
Primary care physician proactively performsauscultation to detect a heart murmur
Patientis referred for an echocardiogram to confirm diagnosis
Treatment decisions are made through discussionsbetween the patient and the multidisciplinary care team, based on clinicalguidelines and patient preferences
Patient receives a valve repair or replacementthrough a surgical or transcatheter approach. Multidisciplinary team providesregular follow-up to ensure recovery and return to normal functioning
There are opportunities to improve care across the whole patient journey, from raising awareness, improving early detection and diagnosis, through to ensuring timely and
appropriate treatment and long term follow up.
EMBED PATIENT EDUCATION AND SHARED DECISION-MAKING IN ALL STAGES OF CARE
CONFIGURE CARE AROUND DEDICATED MULTIDISCIPLINARY HEART VALVE CLINICS AND TEAMS
Facilitate integration of digital and remote technologies into care
invest in data collection and research on heart valve patient-centered outcomes
Reduce inequalities in access to all components of heart valve care
Heart Valve Voice Canada would like to acknowledge and thank The Health Policy Partnership for their work writing Heart Valve Disease: Working together to create a better patient journey report and the Advisory Council for their co-authorship and who made this first of its kind report possible.
We are also indebted to our patient community for their invaluable contributions and patient lived experiences which will continue to inform our work with stakeholders.
The report was developed as an adaptation of the EU report by the same name, which was commissioned by the Global Heart Hub and published jointly by the Global Heart Hub and The Health Policy Partnership in 2020.
