SCORING systems developed by the Cardiology Team at City Hospital and the University of Birmingham are now being put into practice on a world stage to help patients who are at risk of stroke.
In September last year Professor Gregory Lip and Dr Deirdre Lane won the Arrhythmia Alliance Team of the Year Award for their development of two risk assessment scoring systems for patients with Atrial Fibrillation.
These scoring systems have proven so successful with patients who are treated in the Sandwell and west Birmingham area that they are now being included in the European Society of Cardiology’s guidelines and will be used across Europe. They are also being used by clinicians in Canada.
The first scoring system (called CHA2DS2-VASc) developed by Professor Lip and Dr Lane enables clinicians to assess how likely patients with Atrial Fibrillation are to suffer a stroke.
This helps clinicians to decide on the most appropriate stroke prevention treatment.
The second (called HAS-BLED) allows them to assess a patient’s risk of bleeding while being treated with “blood-thinning” treatment.
Dr Lane said: “We are very pleased that our work has been recognised as an important contribution to the management of patients with Atrial Fibrillation.
“Professor Lip and I both hope the scoring systems will help to further reduce the risk of stroke and bleeding for patients with atrial fibrillation by improving their clinical management.”
Atrial Fibrillation occurs when your heart develops an irregular heartbeat.
It can affect people of all ages but is more common in those aged over 65 years.
Although Atrial Fibrillation does not always have any outward symptoms it dramatically increases the risk of stroke.
If you are concerned about Atrial Fibrillation, you should check your pulse on a regular basis.
If you notice that your pulse/heartbeat is irregular, you should visit your GP for an ECG (recording of your heart rhythm).