The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has awarded five research projects more than £800,000 as part of its Healthcare Innovation Awards to improve the delivery of vital healthcare for patients.
Comprising artificial intelligence (AI) and stethoscopes to offer digital access to mental health services to those living in remote areas, the projects will receive between £100,000 and £300,000 via the Healthcare Innovation Fund (HIF).
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) affect around seven million people in the UK, including coronary heart disease, the most common form of heart and circulatory disease, which affects around 2.3 million people in the UK.
The HIF supports research that aims to explore and improve existing services and care for people living with heart conditions across the UK.
Researchers from Imperial College London, Hull York Medical School, Leicester University Hospital, Jubilee University National Hospital and the University Hospital of Wales have been selected to receive the funding.
The research projects will explore a range of areas including how AI-enabled digital stethoscopes could improve diagnosis and treatment of commonly undiagnosed heart conditions, including heart failure, atrial fibrillation (AF) and valvular heart disease; how ambulance services could help clinicians spot AF in undiagnosed patients; ways to improve speed of access to treatment for heart failure patients; the delivery of psychological therapies using computerised cognitive behavioural therapy to provide mental health support for implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients; and assessing a new 12-week exercise programme designed for people living with adult congenital heart disease.
BHF chief scientific and medical officer, professor Bryan Williams, commented: “Our Healthcare Innovation Funding awards are vital in our mission to drive transformative improvements in the care that heart patients receive.
“We are delighted to fund five innovative projects in the first round and we look forward to seeing the progress they make.”
In June, a study published in the BMJ, conducted by researchers from the University of Glasgow, Oxford, Leicester and KU Leuven, revealed the shifting trends and persistent challenges in heart health and CVD in the UK.

https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/news-from-the-bhf