‘Futuristic' 3D heart scans save NHS millions, research says
The tests have been found to reduce the number of patients needing invasive tests by a sixth, according to the study.
The scans, which the MedTech Funding Mandate programme started providing in 2021, are available in 56 hospitals in England at this point and have saved the NHS nearly £10 million by its own estimates.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) affects 2.3 million people in England. It develops when fatty material builds up inside the arteries, which restricts blood flow and puts patients at risk of heart failure.
Before this test, patients would undergo a CT scan to see if their arteries were
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Bowel cancer red flags including the shape of your poo - what to look for
Your toilet habits could provide vital clues to your health - in some cases they could even signal a deadly cancer Your bathroom habits could offer crucial health insights - and might even offer a warning sign of a lethal cancer. While changes in the colour and texture of your stool can often be harmless, typically due to alterations in diet, they could also signify something more serious. Therefore, experts advise giving your stool a once-over before flushing it away. However, it's not just the colour and texture that could indicate a problem - the shape of your poo might also suggest a health concern. Specifically, healthcare professionals have warned that thin, narrow stools could be a sign of several issues, including bowel cancer, which is also known as colorectal cancer. According to something known as the Bristol Stool Chart, healthy faeces should be sausage-like in shape, either slender or with cracks on its surface. As reported by the Daily Record, while an occasional narrow stool could simply point to constipation, it could also hint at chronic digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diverticulitis, and even cancer. Narrow stools can resemble a ribbon or a pencil. In most cases, these can be a symptom of constipation, which means having fewer than three bowel movements a week or finding it difficult to pass stool. This could be due to lifestyle factors such as inadequate fibre consumption, insufficient hydration, and lack of physical activity. However, Fight Colorectal Cancer suggests that thin stools can signal obstructions such as tumours, due to bowel cancer. The charity states: "For the most part, narrow stools that occur infrequently are not a cause for concern. But if you experience ribbon-like stools for more than a week, seek medical attention." This advice is echoed by health professionals at the Mayo Clinic in the US. They explain: "Narrow stools that happen now and then probably are harmless. "But in some cases, narrow stools - especially if pencil thin - may be a sign that the colon is narrowing or has a blockage. And that could be due to colon cancer. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) also may cause changes in the size of your stools." Additional bowel cancer warning signs Bowel cancer is occasionally called a "silent killer" because it frequently doesn't produce symptoms during its initial phases. Nevertheless, the condition can also prompt other changes in your bowel movements. The NHS warns to look out for: "Changes in your poo, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual for you." It may also modify how often you need to use the toilet. One concerning indicator of bowel cancer, which should trigger an immediate consultation with your GP, is blood in your stools, which might look red or black. The NHS suggests ringing 111 or booking an urgent doctor's appointment if your stools are black or dark red or you experience bloody diarrhoea. And if you have persistent bleeding from your bottom, you should call 999. Other symptoms of bowel cancer include: Frequently feeling like you need to poo, even if you've just been to the toilet Abdominal pain A lump in your abdomen Bloating Unintentional weight loss Feeling extremely tired for no apparent reason If you experience any of these symptoms, you should speak to a GP.
The Sun
33 minutes ago
- The Sun
I'm wheelchair-bound at 54 after my cancer symptoms were blamed on gardening – I had tingly toes
KAREN Davey has been left wheelchair-bound after her back pain and tingling toes were blamed on a gardening injury. They turned out to be signs of cancer that robbed Karen of her ability to walk and left the previously active 54-year-old "completely reliant" on others. 3 3 In February 2024, Karen began to feel more tired and achy than usual. As she was hit with fatigue, hot flushes, and loss of appetite, she assumed she was experiencing symptoms of menopause. But by March, Karen had developed pain in her kidney. When she visited the GP, she was told she had back pain due to gardening, despite only having done 20 minutes, well within her capabilities. Over the next two months, her symptoms worsened. Karen stopped eating properly, lost weight and developed a temperature. She eventually lost all sensation in her legs, as well as bladder and bowel function. After being hospitalised for two weeks, she was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin lymphoma in her kidneys, with a tumour wrapped around her spinal cord. After one round of radiotherapy and six rounds of chemotherapy, Karen is in complete remission, but her tumour has had life-changing effects. Due to the spinal cord injury it caused, Karen cannot walk and is now a full-time wheelchair user. Two signs of cancer that could be mistaken for cold weather symptoms - and when to see a GP Karen from Launceston, Cornwall said: "I'd gone from somebody who was quite active before. I'd do a lot of hiking across the moors, I used to go cold water swimming all year round. "One of the last things I did before I got ill was an abseil off a 120-foot viaduct. "This isn't what I'm supposed to be doing at this time of life. I've not yet been able to get back to driving or anything like that. "I'm completely reliant on my husband, it's messed up my social life, just going out to meet friends or going swimming or popping into town to look around the shops. 3 "Emotionally, it's just completely messed me up." Since returning home from hospital in February 2025, Karen, who works as an administrator for an online psychiatry company, has had to reduce her hours to eight hours a week. Her husband has had to give up work altogether to become her full-time carer. For Karen, the delay in getting a diagnosis is particularly frustrating, and she is keen to spread awareness of her situation to help others experiencing something similar. Karen said: "I had no idea that hot flushes would lead to all this. "The symptoms you've got aren't always menopause symptoms, and we need to be more mindful of that." Karen felt her symptoms were also dismissed by her GP and continued to be dismissed until she was eventually sent to the hospital. According to various studies, only 20-30 per cent of people with spinal cord injuries are women, which Karen believes has contributed to her struggles. What is non-Hodgkin lymphoma? Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells called lymphocytes. It starts in lymph nodes or other parts of the lymphatic system. You can get NHL just about anywhere in your body, as the lymphatic system runs through your whole body. It most often starts in the lymph nodes and can affect several groups of lymph nodes around your body. You can also find lymphoma in other body organs outside the lymphatic system, for example, the stomach or bones. The most common symptom of NHL is one or more painless swellings in the neck, armpit or groin. These swellings are enlarged lymph nodes. You might have other general symptoms such as: Heavy sweating at night Temperatures that come and go with no obvious cause Losing a lot of weight (more than one tenth of your total weight over 6 months) and you don't know why Source: Cancer Research UK She said, "It's difficult getting information as a woman, I think because most spinal cord injuries are attributed to men. "I just get annoyed that it was attributed to menopause and doing gardening when it needed looking into a bit more. "I didn't know anything about spinal cord injury and when my toes started going tingly, it didn't occur to me that that's what it was. There's not enough information." Karen was put in touch with Spinal Injuries Association while in hospital. The national charity supports people living with spinal cord injuries and is currently running a women's health campaign, advocating for better access to medical settings for disabled women. Dharshana Sridhar, campaigns manager at Spinal Injuries Association, said: "Karen's story is a powerful reminder that women's health symptoms should never be dismissed or explained away without proper investigation. "Too often, women with spinal cord injuries face delays in diagnosis and unnecessary barriers to equitable care, leaving them to cope with life-changing consequences that could have been prevented. "Across the board, women's concerns are frequently overlooked and when disability or other intersecting factors are involved, the barriers to timely diagnosis and treatment become even greater. "Through our women's health campaign, we're calling for better awareness, earlier diagnosis, and accessible healthcare for every woman, no matter her disability."
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
ME patient from Sowerby Bridge welcomes government care plan
A woman living with a disease that causes extreme fatigue has thanked the government for increasing support for those with the month, the Department of Health and Social Care announced a care plan for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) that included investing in research and offering new training for NHS healthcare Hallgarth, from Sowerby Bridge, welcomed the plan as she felt support had been "severely lacking" in the 14 years since her Hallgarth said at its worst her condition left her bed-bound for months and facing up 50 seizures a day, so the new plan was "wonderful". But she cautioned: "Time will tell because you can say all these things and I think we are so used to hearing empty promises."Ms Hallgarth said she felt like she was not listened to when she first went to the doctor with her symptoms and, after a "process of elimination" following a variety of tests, she was diagnosed with of the daily limitations of the illness, she said: "It impacts on a physical level in terms of mobility, moving around the house, leaving the house..."I use an electric wheelchair or a cane if I am going outside the house."When I was at my worst I was not able to sit up." At that point, Ms Hallgarth said she had to "lie horizontally in the dark for months", unable to tend to her personal care, with her partner and son supporting her."ME can affect you on a very severe level with people on feeding tubes or in hospital, completely reliant on care givers," she her condition is more manageable, Ms Hallgarth runs her own jewellery business, AH Jewellery, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Also referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), ME is a complex long-term physical disease which affects many parts of the body, according to ME Research condition affects approximately 390,000 people in the UK, causing debilitating fatigue, sleep problems and difficulties with thinking, concentration and memory. The government's plan also includes new training for health staff and medical students, featuring up-to-date learning resources to increase understanding and ensure signs are not government said this would help combat the stigma faced by people living with ME/CFS, which stemmed from a lack of awareness about the Hallgarth said she welcomed many aspects of the plan including improved education for NHS workers and students, and better care proposed for children diagnosed with said she hoped the move would reduce stigma around ME, but warned: "It is going to take a while for those old attitudes to really shift." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
