WE ALL BELIEVE Santa to be a moderately overweight middle-aged gentleman who only gets exercise once a year, which is why frontline cardiology staff at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals are preparing to act urgently should the worst happen.
As he makes his final preparations for his visit, medics are ready to treat anyone who has a heart attack over the festive period.
One of those working the long Christmas Eve night is Interventional Cardiologist Dr Derek Connolly, who has worked at the Trust since 2000.
He explained: “We know that in the UK, every 24 hours 190 people will die from a heart attack and that our area has one of the very highest rates of cardiovascular disease.
“Working out of our two state-of-the-art cardiac catheter labs at City Hospital, our team was one of the first in the UK to provide lifesaving primary angioplasty treatment 24 hours a day, seven days a week, when we introduced it in 2005. Since then we have developed our team, our facilities and our environment to ensure high survival rates for patients suffering emergency cardiac events.
“And in pushing the boundaries of medical research, we are known as one of the best cardiac research centres worldwide.
“With over 7million people in the UK living with cardiovascular disease, it is important that people understand the risks of developing the condition, and take whatever steps they can to guard against it.
“There are several key things people can do to reduce their risk of developing the disease, such as giving up smoking, losing weight, exercising and eating the recommended minimum of five portions of vegetables and fruit a day, alongside moderating alcohol intake.
“I do hope Santa doesn’t consume mince pies and alcohol every day of the year.”
Dr Connolly is also calling for all West Midlands schools to introduce Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation [CPR] as a compulsory school subject as it is now in 37 states across America.
“We increasingly have young patients being admitted with ‘out of hospital’ cardiac arrests, and have great success in saving the lives of those fortunate enough to have early CPR.
“Teaching the basics of CPR at school will save lives and give us an opportunity to save more patients.
“We hope everyone has a fantastic holiday season but if you have crushing central chest pain after your Christmas lunch it could be indigestion…but if it’s going on for several minutes it could also be a heart attack and you need to consider calling 999.”
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Issued by: Communications, Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust. Contact 0121 507 5303.