More than 400 with heart valve condition dying each year on NHS waiting list, research finds

<p>Exclusive: True death toll could be 800 a year, cardiologist Dr Jon Byrne warns </p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/may/18/she-was-so-fit-so-well-the-heart-patient-who-died-before-getting-vital-surgery">‘She was so fit, so well’: the heart patient who died before getting vital procedure</a></li></ul><p>Hundreds of patients with a deadly heart condition are dying every year while stuck on an NHS waiting list amid long delays for life-saving treatment, research reveals.</p><p>About 300,000 people across the UK have aortic stenosis (AS), a serious but symptomless disease that weakens the heart’s aortic valve, which helps push blood around the body. Although AS is often fatal, patients survive and regain a normal life if it is detected and treated early.</p><p>A death rate as high as 20% at some hospitals which perform Tavi.</p><p>The average waiting time for the procedure across the UK is 142 days – over 20 weeks – even though those with severe AS have a 50% risk of dying.</p><p>White patients are more likely to undergo Tavi than those from minority ethnic communities.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/may/18/heart-valve-condition-aortic-stenosis-deaths-nhs-waiting-list">Continue reading...</a>