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A pioneering project at University Hospitals Coventry and 星空娱乐官网 NHS Trust aimed at developing an app to improve care for heart failure patients has received a huge boost with an innovation award from the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

As part of its annual Healthcare Innovation Awards, the BHF has awarded nearly £230,000 to a team led by consultant cardiologist Dr Michael Kuehl.

Dr Kuehl and the Innovation team at UHCW NHS Trust are developing an innovative tool to help healthcare professionals make informed medication decisions for their patients. The tool uses key patient data, including blood pressure, heart rate, weight, and potential side effects, to generate personalised medication recommendations. The long-term vision is to turn the tool into a user-friendly smartphone app, named 'Apptitrator,' which will empower patients to manage their symptoms and receive better personalised care.

The app has massive potential as more than one million people in the UK have heart failure. Over half of these people have reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), a condition where the heart’s pumping ability is below normal and could lead to cardiac arrest.

Patients are usually started on a low dose of treatment for heart failure which is gradually increased (or up-titrated) as necessary. While increasing the dosage faster is associated with reduced symptoms and better outcomes, it still needs support from specialist heart failure clinicians, which in some areas of the country is limited.

Dr Kuehl said: “Medication for heart failure has been shown to improve outcomes, increase life expectancy and make patients feel better. But the treatment is becoming more and more complex, with several types of tablets available.

“We have developed an algorithm that records data from patients which can be used to suggest a medication treatment decision and dosage. This would give healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, GPs, pharmacists and advanced care practitioners, more confidence in their use of the medication.

“We will use the BHF funding to test the safety and accuracy of the algorithm and then translate it into the app. I hope we will be able to launch Apptitrator within two years and see how it does in the real world as part of a research trial.”

The app would directly address the challenges faced by heart failure patients who in focus group discussions run by the team have expressed frustration with the lengthy process of medication optimisation and limited communication about side effects of the treatment.

In focus groups, nurses also recognised the potential benefits of digital health solutions and believe it could help with medication ‘up-titration’. They believe a tool such as this would help them keep up to date with changes in medication and improve the consistency of care for patients.

UHCW NHS Trust’s Apptitrator project is among four ambitious initiatives to receive a total of £900,000 in funding under the BHF’s Healthcare Innovation Awards which aim to help clinicians explore new and innovative ways to improve healthcare for heart patients.

Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the BHF, said: “These four pioneering projects showcase how we can harness technology to improve care for patients with cardiovascular disease. They will provide new insights in how to deliver the very best care for heart patients.”

Photo caption: Dr Michael Kuehl, cardiology consultant, with Emily Lucas, Innovation Facilitator