Digital Health for Heart Health
Heart disease is a collection of different conditions that can affect how the heart works. It includes issues such as coronary heart disease, irregular heart rhythm, heart failure, and problems with heart valves.
Digital health means using technology and digital tools to make healthcare better. It has the potential to change the way we take care of people with heart disease. However, there are still many things we don't know about how digital health can help improve heart disease care and management.
We want to bring together those directly affected by heart disease – patients, carers, family members and the healthcare professionals who care for them to identify and prioritise important questions about the use of digital health in heart health. By understanding these different perspectives, we can make sure research and new developments in healthcare technologies are meeting the needs of people who stand to benefit the most.
To do this, a team of patients, carers, clinicians and researchers across the UK are embarking on a Digital Health for Heart Health Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) with the support of the James Lind Alliance to identify the Top 10 research priorities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is heart disease and digital health?
Heart disease refers to a variety of conditions that affect the heart's ability to function properly. It is a broad term that includes different problems related to the heart and blood vessels, such as coronary heart disease, arrhythmias, heart failure and valve disease. Heart disease is a major cause of health problems and death in the United Kingdom, but it’s often preventable. Many types of heart disease can be prevented, treated and managed with healthy lifestyle choices, medications and / or surgery.
Huge opportunities to transform heart disease care and management are offered by the internet, online services and the full range of digital technologies (often referred to as digital health). It includes things like using smartphones, wearable devices, and online platforms to improve how we access and use healthcare services. But we need to know much more about the potential and impacts of these new technologies in care and management of heart disease.
How and when will this project take place?
The James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) is a team effort that aims to figure out the most important research areas in a specific field. People like patients, caregivers, doctors, nurses and researchers all work together to make sure that the research questions chosen are relevant and deal with the needs and concerns of the people directly affected by heart disease.
The PSP usually starts by getting ideas for research topics from lots of different people through public surveys and meetings. These ideas are looked at closely and put into groups based on common themes and agreements. The process of choosing which topics are most important involves having many discussions and votes, where everyone decides together on the top 10 research priorities. The final result of the JLA PSP gives researchers, funders, patient groups and policymakers a plan to focus on the most urgent research questions.
The result of the PSP will be a ‘Top 10’ list of Digital Health for Heart Health research questions that are relevant to patients, the public and clinicians. These will be published and shared publicly. We will then work together with research funders to seek opportunities to support the conduct of research that will hopefully find the answers to these questions.
The Digital Health for Heart Health PSP will run from Autumn 2023 and will be completed within 18-24 months.
How can I get involved with this project?
We want to hear from anyone within the heart disease community whether you are a patient, clinician, researcher, carer or even just someone who is interested in this area to help shape this project. If you would like more information or to get involved, please email DigitalHeart@napier.ac.uk. You can also keep up to date with the latest news and updates via our Twitter and Facebook pages.
We want to know what questions you have about the management and longer-term care of heart disease so that we can guide future research.
Our public surveys will open soon, please keep an eye on this website and our social media pages for further updates on progress, events and calls to take part.
