CALL FOR MORE CONSULTANTS:The Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) has called for the appointment of additional consultant cardiologists and the development of stroke services nationally to tackle cardiovascular disease in Ireland. It said Ireland had 12 consultant cardiologists per million compared with the EU average of 35 per million.
"Stroke services are also lacking with just one stroke unit in existence in the whole country," it said.
The organisation warned yesterday that although mortality rates for cardiovascular disease fell from 54 per cent in 1984 to 36 per cent in 2005, the rise in obesity and diabetes could see those figures grow again.
It listed 10 priorities to tackle the problem. Apart from additional cardiologists and stroke services, it said there should be public education to create greater awareness of the warning symptoms of cardiovascular disease and stroke, and the development of a national tobacco framework and an increase in smoking cessation services.
ONLINE OBESITY TESTS:Parents in Britain will be urged to use an online test to check if their child is obese, the British Department of Health has said.
The results of primary school tests which record the height and weight of five and 10-year-olds will be sent to parents in the post. They will be directed to an internet check which will ask for the information and tell them if their child is overweight.
The letters will also suggest remedies, such as a change in diet or more exercise, and point families towards local health services. In extreme cases, doctors may suggest surgery to older children to reduce their weight, such as a gastric band.
The latest figures show 10 per cent of girls and 8 per cent of boys under the age of 20 are chronically overweight in Britain.
DAILY WALKS:People with type 2 diabetes may lower their risk of heart disease by committing to a daily walk, new research suggests.
In a study of 102 adults with type 2 diabetes, Japanese researchers found that those who stuck with a daily walking regimen for 17 months had a lower risk of developing heart disease or suffering a stroke than those who stopped exercising.
The study participants, who ranged in age from 35 to 75, were instructed to take a 20- 30 minute walk every day. Among the 64 who managed to achieve this, just one, or 2 per cent, suffered a stroke and none developed heart disease during the 17-month study. In contrast, of the 38 participants who failed to stick with their exercise prescription, seven, or 18 per cent, developed heart disease or had a stroke.
The findings show that even simple at-home exercise may cut the cardiovascular risks associated with type 2 diabetes, according to Dr Sato Shinji and colleagues at Saitama Medical University, who carried out the study.
MRI CONTRACT:Charter Medical Group has won a contract with VHI Healthcare to provide MRI scans. Under the terms of the tender, Charter has been appointed as a Category 1 facility by VHI Healthcare which means that VHI members will benefit from direct payment arrangements and will pay no fee at Charter's clinic in Smithfield, Dublin, according to Charter.
The contract begins immediately and is valid for two years.
SAFE HEARTS IN GAA:A southeast club claims it is the first GAA club in the country to be officially recognised by the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) for achieving the Heartsafe standard in resuscitation skills.
The Shelmaliers GAA club earned the award on completion of a CPR programme to reduce the number of deaths from cardiac arrest. The IHF is now urging all GAA clubs to sign up to the Heartsafeprogramme.
Each year about 5,000 people die from cardiac arrest. Seventy per cent of all cardiac arrests occur outside of hospital and a person's chance of survival in these circumstances is just 1 per cent.
The Shelmaliers achieved Heartsafe status after successfully training 15 people in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and in the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to restore heart rhythm. A further 12 people are trained solely in CPR.