Latest news with #heartvalvedisease
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Pop-up clinic in Leicester tests for 'subtle' heart disease
A pop-up clinic was set up in Leicester city centre offering a free heart check to people aged over 60 to test for a "subtle condition".A team of cardiologists from Glenfield Hospital listened to people's hearts for murmurs, which helps towards diagnosing heart valve disease (HVD).Consultant cardiologist Prof Jan Kovac said many people were unaware of the subtle signs of the disease, which can be mistaken for normal Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust said it wanted to raise awareness of HVD, particularly amongst the Asian community, and help improve access to healthcare. Symptoms of the disease include breathlessness, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, chest tightness and an increase in the clinic at the Clock Tower on Tuesday, a check on Suryakant Patel heard a whooshing sound to his heartbeat and he was given a scan Anvesha Singh, honorary consultant cardiologist, said: "When we listened to his heart there's a murmur."We checked him with the echocardiogram that showed one of the valves is thickened. "This would have gone unnoticed, but now we can get him into the system, get another scan and keep him under surveillance." More than 500 people were screened at the clinic with about 50 having a heart issue Feeney, who was told her chest sounded normal, said it was important for her to get checked "for my peace of mind".The 68-year-old told the BBC: "It's a great service and a good idea to bring the service to people." Another passer-by Andrew Carnall, also 68, said: "I've got high blood pressure, so I thought I'll give it a go and see if they find something. "And they have sort of, actually. I've got an irregular heartbeat, so I've got to take a form to my doctor and hopefully they'll sort it out."I'm not worrying about it, but you never know."Mr Carnall said the service was convenient as he was "only going to the bank", adding he would not have got his heart checked otherwise. The hospital trust said about 700,000 people aged over 60 in the Midlands live with undiagnosed HVD, which puts extra strain on the heart and increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and said most people associate heart issues with a sudden stabbing pain in the chest or pins and needles in the arm, but symptoms for HVD can be subtle such as breathlessness and Jan Kovac, who saw people at the drop-in clinic, said: "Valve disease is silent and can go unrecognised. There's fatigue and tiredness for a long time, but it's not specific. "It can actually shorten your life, so a heart check could be life-saving."A simple check like listening to heart, you can hear a murmur, which triggers an investigation and leads to possible treatment."He added when detected early, treatments like surgery or minimally-invasive procedures can restore quality of life.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hospital holds pop-up clinic to reach community
A hospital has held a pop-up clinic in a supermarket car park to encourage more members of the South Asian community to get checked for heart valve disease (HVD). Doctors at Wexham Park Hospital, in Slough, said they noticed that while people of South Asian ethnicity make up 50% of the local population, less than 5% of patients in their HVD clinic were from that community. Navin Chandra, a consultant cardiologist at the Berkshire hospital said: "It is mainly due to a lack of awareness, perhaps a lack of language specific information." The disease is most common in the elderly and symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, heart palpitations and swollen ankles and feet, according to the NHS. The pop-up event was organised with the UK Valve for Life initiative, which aims to improve access to life-saving and life-changing, minimally invasive heart valve interventions. Speaking at the event, Dr Chandra said there may be "no symptoms at all" in the early stages of the disease. "So, capturing it early and knowing about it early is quite important," he said. "We're here to raise awareness by being out in the community. "It is mainly due to a lack of awareness perhaps a lack of language specific information, not feeling fully aware of what the symptoms might be and when to seek help." Doctors could pick up "someone that has low symptom burden but has got a significant problem with their heart", Dr Chandra added. "There are people out there that might have symptoms but don't know what to put it down to. Some people might just think it's part of being older." Slough's Labour MP Tan Dhesi was at the event and told the BBC: "Heart valve disease is both common and serious. "However, early diagnosis and intervention can help to save lives. "We held a roundtable discussion as to how do we deal with the problem, especially within Slough, of very low diagnosis rates, especially within the South Asian community." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Cancer survivor's 'surreal' meeting with King Presenter's love-hate relationship with swimming Wexham Park Hospital
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hospital holds pop-up clinic to reach community
A hospital has held a pop-up clinic in a supermarket car park to encourage more members of the South Asian community to get checked for heart valve disease (HVD). Doctors at Wexham Park Hospital, in Slough, said they noticed that while people of South Asian ethnicity make up 50% of the local population, less than 5% of patients in their HVD clinic were from that community. Navin Chandra, a consultant cardiologist at the Berkshire hospital said: "It is mainly due to a lack of awareness, perhaps a lack of language specific information." The disease is most common in the elderly and symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, heart palpitations and swollen ankles and feet, according to the NHS. The pop-up event was organised with the UK Valve for Life initiative, which aims to improve access to life-saving and life-changing, minimally invasive heart valve interventions. Speaking at the event, Dr Chandra said there may be "no symptoms at all" in the early stages of the disease. "So, capturing it early and knowing about it early is quite important," he said. "We're here to raise awareness by being out in the community. "It is mainly due to a lack of awareness perhaps a lack of language specific information, not feeling fully aware of what the symptoms might be and when to seek help." Doctors could pick up "someone that has low symptom burden but has got a significant problem with their heart", Dr Chandra added. "There are people out there that might have symptoms but don't know what to put it down to. Some people might just think it's part of being older." Slough's Labour MP Tan Dhesi was at the event and told the BBC: "Heart valve disease is both common and serious. "However, early diagnosis and intervention can help to save lives. "We held a roundtable discussion as to how do we deal with the problem, especially within Slough, of very low diagnosis rates, especially within the South Asian community." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Cancer survivor's 'surreal' meeting with King Presenter's love-hate relationship with swimming Wexham Park Hospital
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Slough hospital pop-up clinic for South Asian community
A hospital has held a pop-up clinic in a supermarket car park to encourage more members of the South Asian community to get checked for heart valve disease (HVD). Doctors at Wexham Park Hospital, in Slough, said they noticed that while people of South Asian ethnicity make up 50% of the local population, less than 5% of patients in their HVD clinic were from that Chandra, a consultant cardiologist at the Berkshire hospital said: "It is mainly due to a lack of awareness, perhaps a lack of language specific information."The disease is most common in the elderly and symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, heart palpitations and swollen ankles and feet, according to the NHS. The pop-up event was organised with the UK Valve for Life initiative, which aims to improve access to life-saving and life-changing, minimally invasive heart valve at the event, Dr Chandra said there may be "no symptoms at all" in the early stages of the disease."So, capturing it early and knowing about it early is quite important," he said. "We're here to raise awareness by being out in the community."It is mainly due to a lack of awareness perhaps a lack of language specific information, not feeling fully aware of what the symptoms might be and when to seek help."Doctors could pick up "someone that has low symptom burden but has got a significant problem with their heart", Dr Chandra added. "There are people out there that might have symptoms but don't know what to put it down to. Some people might just think it's part of being older." Slough's Labour MP Tan Dhesi was at the event and told the BBC: "Heart valve disease is both common and serious. "However, early diagnosis and intervention can help to save lives."We held a roundtable discussion as to how do we deal with the problem, especially within Slough, of very low diagnosis rates, especially within the South Asian community." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
