Tag Archives: nurse-led

Introduction Whether asymptomatic patients with a normally functioning replacement heart valve require routine follow-up remains uncertain. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC)1 and American Heart Association (AHA)2 guidelines recommend life-long annual follow-up by a cardiologist. However, pressure on out-patient space means that such patients are often discharged with the expectation that their GP will follow them or that they will return should a valve-related or other cardiac problem develop.3 This trend is likely to be accentuated by planned re-organisations within the National Health Service (NHS).4 To investigate whether regular mo

Introduction Valve disease, is increasingly common as our population ages.1 The organisation of care for these patients is patchy,2 while judging the suitability, timing and type of intervention has never been harder. Opinion papers, therefore, call for a cardiologist specialising in valve disease at every major hospital.3,4 However, patients with valve disease often remain asymptomatic for a long period and need regular echocardiography, but not necessarily to see a cardiologist. Such patients can be managed in a sonographer-led clinic, while patients with normally functioning mechanical replacement valves who do not require regular echocar