New Dedicated Ambulance Service For The Transfer Of Cardiac Patients.

  The Coronary Heart Disease Collaborative has been utilised to pilot a scheme which is run by Lancashire Ambulance Service and    Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre N.H.S. Trust to   improve the transfer of patients with cardiac conditions from Acute Hospitals across     Lancashire and South Cumbria to the Tertiary Centre based at Blackpool by introducing a dedicated front line ambulance to work     exclusively at the transfer of Cardiac patients for a trial period of    6 – 9 months.

At the moment emergency ambulances with a full paramedic crew on board are being used to transfer these patients from hospital to    hospital. By having this new dedicated Ambulance, the emergency ambulances can be freed up to concentrate on providing high    quality emergency care to patients across Lancashire.

An audit of this project will be ongoing to monitor progress being made during the pilot. 

Hilda Preston,Cardiac Rehabilitation Nurse,

(extract from Network Plus, Winter 2004).

  THE HEART SUITE AT WESTMORLAND GENERAL HOSPITAL

Thousands of patients are to benefit following the opening in April 2004 of a specialist heart diagnosis centre at Westmorland General Hospital.

The state-of-the-art catheter laboratory is now available to patients across Morecambe Bay. The seven bed coronary angiography suite, which boasts the most up-to-date equipment of its type at any hospital in the north of England, means the end of a long trek to Blackpool for patients who need tests to establish if their arteries are blocked. The unit where pacemakers are fitted will be run by Consultant Cardiologists Dr Adrian Brodison and Dr Peter Clarkson.

Patients from Morecambe Bay requiring these types of investigations prior to April had to go to Blackpool or Manchester, which clearly, certainly for the people from the furthest end of the Bay, meant a  significant travel of something in excess of a 50-mile round trip.
Initially it should be possible to treat five patients in a day and it is hoped that around 400 will be seen this year, possibly eventually     increasing to 1,000.

Dr Brodison said the Trust was hoping to recruit more Consultant Cardiologists to expand the work of the lab.

The money for the unit came from Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority, Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust and the New Opportunities Fund, which contributed national lottery cash for the specialist equipment.

Extracts from Morecambe Bay NHS Hospitals, NHS Trust Annual Report.

Hilda Preston Cardiac Specialist Rehabilitation Nurse.

                                                                 Cardiac Rehabilitation

  Exercise, as a treatment for heart disease is as old as our knowledge of the condition. In 1768 a doctor noted that his patient with angina was almost cured by sawing wood for half an hour per day. However, heart disease was diagnosed infrequently over the next 150 years. As recently as 1968 the duration of bed rest depended on the severity of the heart attack. Three weeks would be the average period leading to many complications
.
         In the 1950's and the 1960's a number of groups in different parts of the world started programmes of exercise training with Coronary Heart Disease. Isreal was the cradle of a large scale rehabilitation effort. They used a four month course of working activities such as gardening together with gradually increasing gymnasium exercise. Patients were accepted into a reconditioning course some three months after the heart attack. 200 patients were monitored and many became fitter than before. Similar studies were also taking place in U.S.A. Canada and Scandinavia
Over the years since that time there took place a gradual growth in the acceptance world wide of the benefits of exercise for patients with heart disease. There has also been a progressive change from exercise only programmes to multifactorial intervention, to include risk factor modification and stress management.
 
         Cardiac rehabilitation today is divided into 4 stages:-
  Phase One:
                   In patient stay includes: reassurance: information: risk factor assessment: risk stratification: education: mobilization: discharge planning: involvement and support of partner/family and friends.
  Phase Two:
                   Immediate post discharge includes: staff making follow up telephone calls: patients having 24 hour access help line service: staff making home visits: patients attending individual appointments.
   Phase Three:
                   Intermediate post discharge includes: risk stratification and the identification of the high risk patient: inclusion or exclusion criteria for exercise sessions: Psycho-social interventions.
  Phase Four:
                     Long term maintenance, consists of two main components.
                   1, Long term maintenance of individual goals.
                   2, Professional monitoring of clinical status and follow up of general  progress.
                         This involves close liaison with the primary health care team and local keep fit organisations.
         Cardiac rehabilitation in Lancaster was first set up about 30 years ago when patients came back to phase 3.

         Gaye Jackson and myself set up phase 4, 7 years ago. Using gym 4 at the RLI using staff and friends as patients and then started the scheme at Salt Ayre Leasure Complex with about 15 patients. Gradually numbers increased and we had to move to our current venue at the College of Further Education. Each week we have between 30 to 40 people attending. Not only are the physical and psychological benefits enjoyed by all, many new friendships have developed, so people have had social benefits.
 
   Many members of Heart Concern attend phase 4 and are able to encourage new people to join our support group.
.
  Hilda Preston Vice Chair.
 
                                                             A step in the right direction.

Well, 10,000 to be more precise!

"37% of heart disease deaths happen because of a lack of physical  activity compared to 19% related to smoking.” The British Heart Foundation (BHF).

10,000 steps equates to roughly 5 miles (the equivalent of climbing the Eiffel Tower six times or walking two lengths of Heathrow's longest runway) and Japanese research has shown that doing this small amount of exercise daily is a good way of maintaining a healthy heart and reducing body fat. Most people only walk less than half of this   suggested amount and cite various  excuses for doing so, but it doesn't have to be difficult! The proposed routine breaks a healthy lifestyle down into small, achievable goals which can be accomplished In various easy ways: 

 You could:

·  Walk to the local shop on a regular basis. Use the stairs instead of a lift . Get off the bus a stop earlier

·  Even parking at the far end of the car park could make a significant difference

·  Failing that, throwaway the remote control!

·  Try and enjoy yourself doing it - there are bound to be plenty of naturally attractive places near you that provide a pleasant location for a stroll - and remember it's free!

In time you should be able to find small but effective ways of your own to bump up your daily total.

On their website, the British Heart Foundation Medical Director, Professor Sir Charles George states that:

"Walking is one of the easiest, most convenient and          inexpensive forms of exercise. By encouraging people to take more exercise we hope to cut the number of deaths from heart disease. Physical activity can cut the risk of developing Coronary Heart Disease by up to halt; it can also lower blood pressure, relieve stress and minimize the risk of stroke and diabetes. Currently only 30% of men and 20% of women take enough exercise to keep their hearts healthy. "

But the benefits of regular walking don't stop there; a regular ramble, habitual hike or just a standard stroll can also strengthen bones and thus reduce the risk of osteoporosis, can reduce the pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee and can also reduce the risk of strokes, diabetes and various other complaints as well as anxiety and stress.

Research carried out by the British Heart Foundation showed that more than half the people who were previously taking insufficient exercise to benefit their health, had reached the recommended levels of exercise after using a Pedometer for 3 months.

A Pedometer is a small electronic device which should help you to meet the daily individual goal of 10,000 steps. It fits on your waistband and counts every step you take. A small hammer inside the device hits a sensor every time it detects a forward or downward movement and in turn, a counter is activated which can then be reset at the end of every day.

"Walking is one of the easiest, most convenient and inexpensive forms of exercise."

Professor Sir Charles George, British Heart Foundation Medical Director


An article from Healthy Direct.                Put the Kettle On.

 Although coffee is fast becoming the nation’s favourite drink, with a coffee bar now on every street corner, the latest scientific studies show that three cups of tea a day not only lift the spirits, but also help to protect against today’s major killers, heart disease and cancer.

  Research by Dr. Carrie Buxton, a public health nutritionist, has shown that black tea contains powerful antioxidants known as flavonoids, which can prevent the kind of cell damage which lead to heart disease and cancer.

  These antioxidants also inhibit the growth of “bad” bacteria in the gut while promoting the proliferation of “good” bacteria. Nor are the benefits of black tea compromised when milk is added, according to Dr. Buxton.

  She also maintains that the caffeine in tea can improve alertness and memory. The idea that the amount of caffeine in tea is harmful is a baseless “urban myth”.

  Antioxidants contained in black tea are not, however, found in coffee of herbal tea. It’s only traditional strong black tea which    delivers the goods.  

  Dr. Buxton’s studies indicated that three cups of tea a day could cut the risk of heart attack by 11 per cent. During her researches, she found that the over – 50s drank twice as much tea as 19 – 25 year olds. As a result, the Tea Council has just launched a campaign known, as tea4health, to encourage younger people to drink more tea.

  Young women in particular, it seems, are shunning tea in     favour of water. And the reason? According to Simon Bowes, from the tea-packing firm Keith Spicer, tea drinking is on the decline because today’s impatient youngsters can’t wait for the kettle to boil!

    By Liz Hodkinson,
  Published in “The Veteran” March 2005