Throughout February the British Heart Foundation (BHF) raise awareness of a variety of health conditions directly related to cardiovascular disease and promotes healthy living measures such as diet and exercise that can lower the risks while also drawing attention to the serious impact that cardiology negligence can have on patients’ lives.
Every 3 minutes, someone in the UK dies from cardiovascular disease and the BHF are powering research to save and improve lives. Since 1961, they have been able to fund scientific breakthroughs that are keeping more families together today. From pacemaker technology and portable defibrillators to proving that statins can help save lives.
Heart and circulatory diseases affect more than 7.6 million people across the UK, placing a significant strain on individuals, families, and the healthcare system. Recent research also shows that every 16 minutes a woman in the UK is admitted into hospital due to a heart attack.
Many of these heart conditions can develop silently, with symptoms often overlooked or mistaken for less serious illnesses. This makes early detection, timely diagnosis, and appropriate treatment very critical. By encouraging people to recognise warning signs, attend regular health checks, and adopt healthier lifestyles, awareness campaigns such as those led by the BHF play a vital role in preventing serious cardiac events and improving long-term outcomes.
Cardiology Negligence:
At the Medical Law Partnership, we have dealt with several cardiology negligence cases. These can stem from when a patient suffers harm due to substandard care or mistakes made by medical professionals or healthcare providers, including both hospital and GP settings. Whilst all kinds of medical professionals provide excellent care mistakes can and do happen, when they relate to the heart the consequences can be very serious.
Some common examples of cardiology negligence include:
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis – This occurs when a medical professional diagnoses a wrong condition or fails to recognise a cardiac condition at all.
- Failure to refer or discharge wrongly – medical professionals may allow a patient to be discharged or not refer appropriately for further investigation.
- Inadequate follow-up care – Errors involving prescription and medication management can and do happen causing unnecessary stress and potential further complications.
How MLP can help:
The Medical law partnership brings together clinicians, legal professionals, and patients to identify where negligence care may have broken down, support patients and families after avoidable or painful cardiac events as well as promote earlier and fairer resolutions of complaints.
When cardiac negligence occurs, the impact on patients and their families can be devastating both physically and mentally. Seeking legal advice can help individuals understand what went wrong, whether standards of care were breached, and what steps can be taken to secure support, accountability, and access to rehabilitation or compensation.
Supporting Heart Month (BHF):
As we support the British Heart Foundation’s work this February, we are reminded of the importance of both preventative heart health and ensuring that patients receive the safe, timely, and effective medical care they deserve.
If your heart condition was overlooked, mistaken for something else, or was diagnosed later than it could have been, and this has caused you harm, you may have been subject to cardiovascular negligence. We can assess what went wrong and help you prove that better care could and should have been provided.
Call us today on 0800 014 7551 or fill in our contact form and we’ll give you a ring back as soon as possible.