In New Zealand cardiovascular disease (heart, stroke and blood vessel disease) is still the leading cause of death, accounting for 30% of deaths annually. Nick Smith from the University of Auckland is working with research teams in the UK, to build individualised computer models of heart patients' blood flow before surgery to show which pipes should be unblocked. This makes surgery faster, cheaper, and more effective, with a potential reduction in secondary surgery, known as Type 2 failures, of up to 50%.
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