About heart disease
Heart conditions affect around 1 in 3 people in Jersey and heart attacks remain the most common single cause of death on the Island.
Around 4 in 10 admissions have a cardiac cause and cardiovascular disease accounts for roughly 20% of health care costs in the British Isles. Despite this, death rates for premature heart disease in Jersey are some of the lowest in England.
Common heart conditions include:
-
coronary heart disease (resulting in angina, heart attacks, stents, and bypass surgery)
- high blood pressure
- heart failure
- heart valve disorders
- heart rhythm disorders
- genetic disorders
- congenital heart disease
You can find more information on the
NHS website about heart conditions, including
coronary heart disease and
heart attacks.
The Jersey Heart Team
The Jersey Heart Team consists of:
Medical staff
Consultant cardiologists
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Associate specialist
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Staff grades
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Lead digital health research director
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Cardiology fellow
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Digital innovation fellow
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We also have visiting specialist colleagues from Oxford University Hospitals.
Nursing staff
Nurse consultant, arrhythmia
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Advanced nurse practitioner, cardiology (arrhythmia nurse specialist)
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Cardiac rehabilitation nurse specialist
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Heart failure nurse specialists (community and inpatient service)
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Specialist nurse in preventative cardiology
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Community health care assistant
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Outpatients and clinics
Our work aims to keep patients well and out of hospital. We run outpatient clinics in the community as well as in the hospital. Our clinic types include:
-
Chest pain assessment
- Heart rhythm
- Blackouts
- Heart failure
- Rehabilitation
- Complex devices
- Adult congenital
- General cardiology clinics
- Preventative cardiology service
We aim to keep our waiting times as low as possible and see new patients within 8 weeks of referral. More information can be found on
waiting times.
Tests and investigations
Most of our heart tests are performed in the Clinical Investigation and Radiology Departments at the General Hospital. These services include:
-
Heart rhythm traces (ECGs and monitors)
- Heart ultrasound scans (echocardiograms)
- Coronary angiograms to look at heart arteries using an X-ray test called cardiac computed tomography (CTCA)
These tests allow us to examine the structural and electrical activity of the heart. Some of our tests are performed at our partner heart centre in Oxford.
We process around 15,000 tests and appointments every year.
Procedures
We perform around 100 implantable device procedures each year. These procedures include:
- Pacemakers
- Defibrillators
- Implantable loop recorders
- Electrical cardioversions
- Transoesophageal echocardiograms
- Drug provocation studies
We perform most procedures as a day case at the hospital under local anaesthetic or sedation, meaning that patients can usually go home on the same day.
Overseas care
More complex heart procedures take place at the
Oxford Heart Centre. These procedures include:
-
Coronary stent insertion
- Cardiac surgery
- Cardiac magnetic resonance scanning
- Catheter ablation
If you have been referred to the UK for a heart procedure, our travel team will advise on travel arrangements. More information can be found here on
John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
Private care
Many patients choose to pay for private healthcare or have insurance which helps cover health costs. Private healthcare allows you to receive specialist advice as well as freeing up capacity in the public system for other Islanders.
Income generated from private healthcare helps to fund hospital staffing and operational costs. More information on private heart services can be found on
Jersey private patients and
Dr Andrew Mitchell, consultant cardiologist.
Research
The Jersey Heart Team has a dedicated digital health research team at
The Allan Lab which focuses on immersive health technologies, including virtual reality and the assessment of physiological stress responses.
We have worked with several artificial intelligence services and help provide early-stage development and clinical application for digital health technologies. This generates research concepts and papers and allows Islanders early access to advanced health technologies.
Charity and fund raising
The Jersey Heart Support Group was established by heart patients to help fellow heart patients and their families. It provides automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and helps with education and training of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). We work closely with them to provide support for our patients.
You can donate on The Jersey Heart Support Group, or if you want to donate to the Jersey Heart Team or leave a gift in your will to help support cardiac patients and services in Jersey, you can contact us on +44 (0) 1534 442490.
gov.je