The British Heart Valve Society Guideline

The first EuroHeart Valve survey in 2003 showed significant limitations in the care of patients with heart valve disease throughout Europe. Since then there have been 7 sets of international guidelines and a large volume of published studies about heart valve disease but limitations still exist at all steps of clinical care. There has been a failure to translate guidelines and research papers into clinical practice and for this to occur a reconfiguration of service delivery is needed. The British Heart Valve Society has therefore produced a consensus document on service delivery which has been endorsed by the British Cardiovascular Society and the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society. It aims: To describe methods of achieving specialist competencies in valve disease; To describe the principles and consensus standards for clinical care; To circumvent barriers between the community, DGH and cardiac centre by developing a network approach to the delivery of care; To position the patient at the centre of organizational concerns; To ensure that the same quality of care can be delivered wherever an individual patient presents.