How Duke of Edinburgh’s stent treatment could unblock arteries in heart patients

Prince Philip underwent angioplasty and stenting in 2011; a procedure which doctors believe could be effective in unblocking the arteries of heart failure patients.
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Doctors are investigating whether a procedure undergone by the Duke of Edinburgh is effective in unblocking the arteries of heart failure patients.

More than 400 of a target 700 patients have been recruited to a clinical trial seeking to establish the benefit of using “stents” to improve the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body.

The full procedure, known as angioplasty and stenting, involves inserting a small balloon into the artery, via the groin or waist, and pushing it up to the blockage, where it is inflated. The artery is then kept open with a tiny cylindrical scaffold, known as a stent.

The procedure is routinely used for angina — about 75,000 procedures a year in the UK — but the benefit for heart failure patients, where the heart has a reduced ability to pump blood around the body, is unknown.

The REVIVED (REVascularisation for Ischaemic VEntricular Dysfunction) trial is being run at about 30 UK hospitals, including St Thomas’, the King’s College and the Royal Free.

Investigator Dr Divaka Perera, consultant interventional cardiologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and professor of cardiology at King’s College London, said: “We can’t be sure that stents necessarily help patients with heart failure caused by coronary artery disease, even though a lot of patients and doctors feel it must.

“Stenting for patients where the heart muscle is poor does carry some complications. This study aims to find out if length of life and symptoms are improved with use of stents.”

Dr Perera added that previous attempts to do this research had failed because it was difficult to recruit enough patients.

Prince Philip underwent angioplasty and stenting in 2011 after suffering from a blocked coronary artery. The standard treatment involves tablets, and occasionally the use of an implantable cardiac device to regulate heart rhythm. Half the patients volunteering for the trial will also receive one or more stents.

An estimated 300,000 people in the UK have heart failure caused by coronary artery disease. This is when the arteries which supply the heart with blood become narrowed due to a gradual build-up of fatty material.

Study saved me, says powerlifter

A world champion powerlifter believes that taking part in the REVIVED study helped save his life.

Alan Luker, 68, of Snodland in Kent, was in a supermarket in 2013 when his heart rate reached 216 beats per minute; a normal resting rate is 60 to 100. “An ambulance came and I thought it was my time, so I relaxed and waited to die,” he said.

Alan Luker claimed the REVIVED trial saved his life after having a heart-attack in 2013

At St Thomas’, the father of two was advised to have a defibrillator fitted. After being told he would be a good candidate for the study, he was randomly selected also to have a stent. Mr Luker said: “Last year I broke three world records and was named best overall master powerlifter in Europe. Without the study I believe I would be dead.”

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