"Quick Neck Check: A Painless Way to Spot Early Signs of Heart Failure"

HEART failure can be hard to spot because its symptoms can be subtle and easily mistaken for normal signs of ageing or fatigue.

But a simple neck scan could help to pick up early warning signs in men, according to a new study.

A carotid ultrasound has been found to be key in spotting the early warning signs of heart failureCredit: Getty

Known as a carotid ultrasound, the scan is similar to ultrasounds used during – and is something GPs could consider offering patients over 60, researchers said.

Dr Atinuke Akinmolayan, a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) academic clinical fellow who led the research from UCL and is now a , said: “The carotid ultrasound is a safe, cheap and painless investigation, and our findings suggest it may be able to provide an early warning sign for heart failure.

“A patient who gets an ultrasound result indicating they may be at higher risk of future could have an important conversation with their doctor about lifestyle changes they could make to lower that risk.”

The scan takes between 15 and 30 minutes and is performed using a small handheld device that is moved gently over the neck.

It allows medics to look at the flexibility of the carotid arteries, the main vessels that supply blood to the brain, face and neck.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF), which part-funded the research, estimates that around 920,000 people in the UK are living with heart failure.

The large arteries in the body are elastic, but can stiffen with certain diseases and age, leading to , heart failure and an increased risk of and .

The study, led by University College London (UCL), included 1,631 men aged 71 to 92 and used data from the British Regional Heart Study, which started in the 1970s.

A quarter of those with the least flexible arteries included in the analysis were 2.5 times more likely to develop heart failure compared to those with the most flexible arteries.

Additionally, the study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, looked at the thickness of carotid arteries.

Researchers found men with thicker vessels were more likely to have a heart attack.

For every 0.16 millimetre increase in thickness, heart attack risk increased by about 29 per cent, the study suggests.

Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the BHF, said: “The findings of this study are interesting and show that stiffening of arteries is associated with increased risk of heart failure, most likely due to the heart having to work harder against the resistance caused by these stiffer arteries.

“It is an important signal that whenever we detect such changes in the carotid arteries, we should also be thinking of the potential impact on the heart and an increased risk of heart failure, which we have treatment strategies to prevent.”

Dr Akinmolayan added: “More research is needed, especially to see if this works for women, but this is something GPs could look at offering to people over the age of 60, where possible and believed needed.”

A separate study, also led by UCL, suggests a 10-minute scan could help millions of people with hard-to-treat high blood pressure.

Researchers found men with thicker vessels were more likely to have a heart attackCredit: Getty

It targets those who have a problem with their adrenal glands producing too much of the hormone aldosterone, which regulates levels of salt in the body.

This issue is estimated to affect about a quarter of people with high blood pressure.

The scan, developed by UCL, is designed to detect overactivity in the adrenal glands that might be missed by traditional tests.

Prof William, who is chairman of medicine at UCL and clinical lead for the study, said: “We have been waiting for a test like this for many decades.

“This British innovation is going to transform the diagnosis of aldosterone excess as an important and previously hidden cause of hypertension in many of our patients.”