More than 400 with heart valve condition dying each year on NHS waiting list, research finds

Exclusive: Cardiologist Dr Jon Byrne warns true death toll could be 800 a year as not all specialist centres shared data

• She was so fit, so well': the heart patient who died before getting vital procedure

Hundreds of patients with a deadly heart condition are dying every year while stuck on an NHS waiting list amid long delays for life-saving treatment, research reveals.

About 300,000 people across the UK have aortic stenosis (AS), a serious but symptomless disease that weakens the heart's aortic valve, which helps push blood around the body. Although AS is often fatal, patients survive and regain a normal life if it is detected and treated early.

A death rate as high as 20% at some hospitals which perform Tavi.

The average waiting time for the procedure across the UK is 142 days - over 20 weeks - even though those with severe AS have a 50% risk of dying.

White patients are more likely to undergo Tavi than those from minority ethnic communities.