Let’s take diagnosis out of hospitals and on to streets COMMENT

THE case for preventing heart and circulatory diseases is indisputable.

The British Heart Foundation’s plan for the NHS published today shows that a huge number of families could be saved the trauma of heart attacks, strokes and other illnesses if risk factors such as high blood pressure are better identified and treated over the next decade.

This is not hugely complicated to do – but it will take commitment from health chiefs to act differently. This means taking diagnosis out of the hospital and on to the street, reaching people who might otherwise be missed.

The Government and NHS need to make a common sense shift towards testing for conditions such as high blood pressure in supermarkets, football grounds and leisure centres, as well as GP surgeries and pharmacies.

At the BHF, we think this is key and we are funding £1.5million of schemes looking to do just that.

It is not just high blood pressure where earlier detection could have simon gillespie a big impact. Relatively common conditions such as atrial fibrillation, where the heart’s rhythm becomes abnormal, has been diagnosed in 1.1 million people in England and many more are thought to be undiagnosed.

If left untreated, atrial fibrillation increases the risk of a stroke by up to five-fold.

The key with high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation, as two examples, are that they are easily identifiable and treatable.

But as it stands far too many people are still undiagnosed and pay a heavy price as a result.

As the NHS plans for the next decade, it has a golden opportunity to prevent a vast number of cases of heart and circulatory disease – it is one that cannot be ignored.