A young mother from Grangemouth has described her shock at being diagnosed with heart failure, as new figures show hospitalisations for the condition have risen by more than 50 per cent in ten years. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) says the increase is unsustainable and argues that most A&E visits for heart failure are preventable.
Hospitalisations Up by Over 50%
Hospitalisations for people whose heart is not pumping blood properly rose from 173,744 in 2014-15 to 264,417 a decade later, according to the BHF. Heart failure diagnoses are expected to double by 2040. Severe breathlessness, chest pain, or significant fluid retention are often the main causes for concern among sufferers.
Szandra Tar, 35, from Grangemouth, Falkirk, said her “belly was huge” and she “woke up gasping for air” after her heart failure, caused by a genetic fault, was misdiagnosed.
A Mother's Ordeal
Professor Bryan Williams, chief medical officer at the BHF, said: “Most hospital visits for heart failure could be prevented but too often, someone is only diagnosed with heart failure when they are already seriously unwell. This analysis highlights a growing and deeply troubling pressure on an NHS already under immense strain.”
Over one million Britons have heart failure, a condition where the organ cannot pump blood efficiently enough. Szandra said the first sign of a problem was muscle aches in her right shoulder. She never suspected heart failure because she was fit and played volleyball. The pains began at the end of 2024, and by early 2025 she could no longer walk or run a short distance without becoming breathless.
Misdiagnosis and Hospital Care
When she phoned her GP last June, she was told it was either due to over-exercising or anxiety and was prescribed medicines that can make heart failure worse. Szandra, who works for Police Scotland as a civilian in the evidence department, said: “I looked like I’d been stung by a bee. My belly was huge. I couldn’t get on the trousers I’d been wearing a week before. I woke up in the night gasping for air.”
She phoned her GP again but was told the swelling was due to the heat or antibiotics she had been taking. It was only when listening to her chest that the doctor noticed she had an abnormally fast heart rate at rest and sent her to hospital. Szandra was admitted and spent the next 11 days on the cardiology unit at Forth Valley Royal Hospital. She said: “I asked if I was going to die and they told me they’d try their best to make sure that doesn’t happen. You can imagine how that felt with two children at home.”
Long-term Treatment and Future Plans
She has been fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and put on medication that she will need to take for the rest of her life. Genetic testing revealed she has a genetic variant which can cause dilated cardiomyopathy. Her children are now being tested to see if they have the same variant.
The BHF says the UK needs better ways of diagnosing heart failure at an earlier stage, as well as better management in the community to keep people out of hospital. Professor Williams OBE said: “The pressure on staff, beds and vital cardiac services will only intensify in the years ahead unless more people receive the treatment and care they need earlier.”
Labour has launched a 10-year plan to slash premature deaths from heart disease and strokes by 25 per cent. Its first three years focus on high blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes.
