Heart Failure & Primary Care: The Moments That Matter | Heart Failure Unfiltered

What does it actually feel like to be discharged from hospital with heart failure and handed back to a GP who may never have managed the condition before?

In this episode of Heart Failure Unfiltered, Nick sits down with a GP specialist, a two-years post-transplant patient educator, and a patient trustee to explore one of the most consequential (and most overlooked) handovers in modern healthcare: the moment a heart failure patient returns to primary care.

This is episode three of a four-part series on the BEAT Masterclass: Heart failure and primary care - the moments that matter to the patient. If we don't equip our primary care workforce to detect, diagnose, and manage heart failure effectively, real patients pay the price. This conversation goes deep on what good looks like, what's going wrong, and what every clinician working in primary care needs to know.

🎙️ Guests:

Gav: Diagnosed with heart failure at 55, two years post heart transplant, patient educator at the Pumping Marvellous Foundation

Dr. Sue Kemsley: GP in Cheshire, GPSI in Cardiology, Clinical Lead for Health Innovation Northwest Coast and the Northwest Coast Cardiac Network

Corinne: Diagnosed with heart failure five years ago, four-year patient educator at the Pumping Marvellous Foundation, trustee

Key Terms & Concepts Discussed:

• NT-proBNP testing

• BEAT symptoms (Breathlessness, Exhaustion, Ankle swelling, and more)

• The four pillars of heart failure treatment + cardiac rehab as the fifth

• Long-term condition review in primary care

• Heart failure care plans and NICE guidelines (in place since 2018)

• Cardiac rehabilitation referral pathways

• Shared decision-making and patient self-management contracts

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction: Heart failure, primary care & why it matters

01:37 - Meet the guests: Patient educators & a cardiology-specialist GP

02:37 - Why primary care shapes the entire heart failure experience

05:01 - The Marvellous Masterclass: What non-specialists actually took away

06:47 - Empathy at diagnosis — why the words "you have heart failure" change everything

09:21 - After discharge: The biggest clinical priorities when a patient returns to primary care

14:54 - The patient perspective: What "good" post-discharge care actually feels like

21:58 - Seeing heart failure through the patient's eyes — what would change?

30:01 - How do we scale this? The case for digital heart failure education

🏥 About the Pumping Marvellous Foundation

The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is the UK's heart failure patient charity. We produce patient-friendly resources designed by patients, support people newly diagnosed with heart failure, and work with clinicians, commissioners, and health innovation networks to improve care at every stage of the heart failure journey.

👉 Visit pumpingmarvellous.org to access free patient resources, make a donation, or find out how to get involved.

Even £5 can help us reach the next patient who needs support. Together, we can make sure no one faces heart failure alone.

📺 Subscribe for new episodes every week covering real-world heart failure care, patient stories, and clinical education.

💬 Leave a comment — we'd love to hear from clinicians and patients about your experience of heart failure in primary care.

🔔 Hit the bell so you never miss an episode of Heart Failure Unfiltered.

HeartFailure #PrimaryCare #HeartFailureAwareness #PumpingMarvellous #CardiacHealth #NTproBNP #HeartFailureEducation #GPEducation #CardiacRehab #LongTermConditions #HealthcareEducation #PatientExperience #HeartHealth #HeartFailureUnfiltered #CardiacNursing #GPTraining #ChronicIllness #HeartFailureDiagnosis #NHSPrimaryCare #PatientAdvocacy