Newcastle Doctors Could Save Your Life With This Simple Two Minute Heart Check
It can be estimated that in the North East alone there are over 185,000 people aged 60+ living with undiagnosed Heart Valve Disease (HVD).[1] Heart doctors from Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust are urging anyone over 60, whether they have symptoms or not, to attend a free event to have a quick heart check.
“Heart Valve Disease is often referred to as a ‘hidden disease’ because symptoms can be mild and some patients don’t experience any symptoms at all,” explains Dr Mohammad Alkhalil, a Consultant Cardiologist based at the Freeman Hospital, “While Heart Valve Disease is very serious and can be deadly, if it is detected early it can be easily treated. This is why we hope to see hundreds of older people from Newcastle and the North East at our free heart event.”
HVD occurs when one or more of the heart's valves fail to function properly and complications, like heart failure, can be deadly. HVD causes symptoms such as breathlessness, weariness and fatigue, but symptoms can be mild and often mistaken for normal ageing. When detected early, treatments like surgery (SAVR) or minimally-invasive procedures (TAVI) can restore quality of life and save lives. HVD can be detected easily.
“All we need to see if a person might have HVD is a simple stethoscope,” adds Specialist Nurse Debbie Stewart from Freeman Hospital, “We can listen to a person’s heart for a minute or two and the heart check can be done through clothes, so there is no need to undress. It is a really simple, quick and pain-free check, but it might just save your life.”
There is a huge disparity in the UK about who gets timely diagnosis, referral to specialist and who accesses the newest treatment for HVD, such as less invasive procedures for HVD called ‘TAVI’ which according to the Valve for Life initiative must be urgently addressed.
“At Valve for Life we are aware of significant gaps across the country where people who live in wealthier areas tend to have better healthcare infrastructure and tend to be seen quicker. However less affluent areas have longer waiting times and we see higher numbers of preventable deaths,” comments the UK’s Valve for Life programme.
Dr Mohammad Alkhalil concludes: “Newcastle and the North East has pockets of severe deprivation and a high proportion of pensioners living in poverty, these factors can make accessing healthcare challenging. But we also know that most people aren’t aware of HVD symptoms and there is often a delaying in seeking medical attention across the board. However, we know that cardiology outreach – coming to patients close to their home and making heart health checks really easy to take part in – are a great way to bridge the gap of health inequality. This is why our team of cardiology specialists will be checking as many hearts as possible on Friday.”
The Your Heart Matters truck is coming to the ASDA Byker Superstore in Newcastle on Friday 16th May and is inviting anyone aged 60+ to attend a free heart check. The truck will be parked up in the ASDA Byker Superstore’s car park and will be open from 10am until 3pm.
[1] As of the 2021 Census, the North East of England had a total population of approximately 2.68 million. Around 25% of the population were aged 60 and over, which equates to roughly 670,000 people. https://evidencehub.northeast-ca.gov.uk/report/population-by-age-2021-census. The latest UK research estimates around 28% of ‘healthy’ individuals aged 60+ in fact have Heart Valve Disease equating to 187,600 over 60s in the North East (Prevalence of asymptomatic valvular heart disease in the elderly population: a community-based echocardiographic study | European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging | Oxford Academic)
