Landmark trial into heart failure treatment

Dr Divaka Perera, Reader in Cardiology at King’s College London, is embarking on a study to test the benefits of angioplasty and stenting in cases of heart failure, against bypass surgery. The REVIVED study, funded by the NIHR, will take place in up to 25 medical centres in the UK and will recruit 700 patients to compare the outcome of angioplasty and medication, or medication alone, to combat heart failure.

The study is the subject of an article written by Danny Buckland, a health journalist, and published in the Times on 28 September 2013.

Dr Perera is quoted as saying, ‘The disturbing statistic is that heart failure accounts for more than 5 per cent of all deaths in the UK. Many units and cardiologists offer angioplasty to heart failure patients, but it is without an evidence base to support it. This will be the first study aimed at eliminating a grey area. I don’t know what the answer will be, but we will have an answer.’