В Ньюкасле запустили клиническое испытание новой терапии для пациентов после операции на клапанах сердца

Top Newcastle NHS consultant welcomes 'much-needed' heart surgery trial that could help thousands Mr Asif Shah is among those helping to run the AFFECT heart surgery trial A leading Tyneside transplant surgeon has welcomed a new drug trial which could help thousands with a particular heart problem. Top consultant Asif Shah has spoken about the potential of a trial called AFFECT - which is designed to find the safest and most effective treatment to use after heart valve surgery for patients who also have an irregular heartbeat. Mr Shah and his colleagues at the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust are among 30 NHS centres offering the trial. It is being led from Teesside, at the Academic Cardiovascular Unit at James Cook University Hospital. Mr Shah, from the Freeman Hospital, said: "We’re pleased to be able to offer patients the opportunity to take part in the AFFECT trial. We hope that the trial will provide much-needed evidence in this area and determine best treatment options for patients in the future." The idea is to compare how a newer kind of blood-thinning medication - a group of drugs known as "direct oral anticoagulants" - compare with previously common drugs such as warfarin. Both kinds of medication help a patient to avoid blood clots following surgery - to reduce the risk of issues such as strokes - but the new trial is to assess the long-term outcomes of using each option. Professor Enoch Akowuah, is the trial's chief investigator based on Teesside. They said: "This is an important question for both patients and clinicians. We know anticoagulation is essential for patients with atrial fibrillation after mitral valve repair, but we do not yet know which treatment offers the best balance of safety and protection. “The AFFECT trial will provide high-quality evidence to guide national treatment decisions and improve long-term outcomes for patients across the UK and internationally." Eligible patients will be invited to take part by the NHS staff looking after them. More than 130 patients have already begun treatment on the trial. ChronicleLive has created a dedicated WhatsApp community for breaking news and our biggest stories. You can join this WhatsApp community here. It will keep you up-to-date with news as it breaks and our top stories of the day sent directly to your phone. Our ChronicleLive Daily newsletter is free. You can sign up to receive it here. It will keep you up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East.