THE first heart procedure of its kind in Worcestershire has already changed the lives of angina patients and will soon help those with more serious cardiac complaints.

Angioplasty was performed for the first time on a patient at Worcestershire Royal Hospital (WRH) in Worcester on September 25 by a team of consultants.

The procedure involves permanently opening the coronary artery to improve blood flow to the heart after the artery itself has narrowed, forcing the heart muscle to work harder to get the oxygen it needs.

An attack of angina, which can be intensely painful, tends to come on during exercise and subsides when the body is at rest.

Drugs can be used to lower cholesterol levels and prevent heart attacks, but for some patients angioplasty is now considered the best option.

The delicate technique involves placing a stent – a small stainless steel mesh tube – in the coronary artery, to keep it open and allow blood to pass more freely to the cardiac muscle.

Edna Clarke, aged 72, of Appletrees Crescent, Bromsgrove, was the first person in Worcestershire to undergo the treatment and has already noticed a huge difference in her health.

Mrs Clarke, who was fully conscious during the entire procedure, said: “I was shaking like a leaf when I went in. I was really nervous . There were screens to show what was happening but I didn’t look at the screen too much.

Ignorance is bliss. I felt more and more relaxed as it went on.

“I first noticed a problem when I was walking up an incline or a hill.

It was just some pain down my left arm. I never took too much notice of it. I mentioned it to my doctor. I never thought it could be anything to do with my heart but my doctor said straight away, ‘I don’t like the sound of this’.”

She was then sent to Kidderminster Hospital for a checkup and a treadmill test, and was told she had angina.

Initially she did not want the procedure, but eventually reconsidered and a few weeks later it was carried out at the WRH.

She said: “I don’t worry that I’m going to be in pain now. If I had been treated privately, I couldn’t have had better treatment. All the staff on the ward were marvellous.

People run the National Health Service down but for me it has been wonderful. They said if I didn’t have something done I could have had a heart attack and died.

“That’s how serious it was.”

Philip Bainbridge, 75, of Station Road, Evesham, was also among the first patients to benefit from the procedure, which took place on the same day as Mrs Clarke’s.

He first discovered he had angina when he was gripped by an intense pain while walking his dog.

Mr Bainbridge said: “My arms went tight and I felt the blood was trying to burst out of them. I just had to try and grin and bear it.

There were also excruciating pains in my chest. It was only 300 yards to get home but I didn’t think I was going to make it.”

His wife advised him to go straight to the doctor, but he decided he would go out again to see how he felt. When the pain returned, he made an immediate appointment with his doctor and was then referred to a consultant.

Six weeks later he underwent the one-hour procedure at the WRH.

He said: “I certainly feel a lot better than I did before. Before, if I went a few yards up the road I had pains in my arm and chest. Now I don’t experience any pain at all.”

Dr Jasper Trevelyan, a consultant cardiologist at the hospital, said one of the main reasons he began work at the WRH two years ago was to oversee the introduction of this service, which means patients will no longer have to travel to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for the treatment.

The stent is fed into the body down a tube through the artery as surgeons monitor the progress via an X-ray machine.

The tube travels down the artery in the groin or wrist to the heart where a small balloon is inflated to widen the artery.

Then the stent is inserted to keep the artery open and maintain the flow of blood. The stent is a permanent addition to the patient’s body and is not usually removed. It can cost between £100 and £500, depending on the size and type.

The hospital expects to treat 200 people in the first year, rising to 400 people a year by the third year.

At the moment the procedure is only for people with angina, but it will soon be used to treat people who have suffered heart attacks.

WHAT IS ANGINA?

SYMPTOMS: Pain, ache or discomfort across the front of the chest during exercise such as climbing a hill.

TESTS: Blood tests and electrocardiographs – including ones done on an exercise bike or treadmill.

PREVENTION: Stop smoking and have regular blood pressure checks. Moderate physical activity and a healthy diet including fruit and vegetables can help. A moderate amount of alcohol may be beneficial to the heart.

TREATMENTS: Statin drugs lower cholesterol. Aspirin reduces risk of a heart attack by thinning the blood. Beta-blockers block the action of hormones such as adrenaline, regulating the heart rate.