Newry Armagh Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Mickey Brady supports heart charities call to save lives and money through cardiac rehabilitation

Published: 14 October, 2009

NI Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS) and British Heart Foundation (BHF) NI have teamed up to campaign for wider access to cardiac rehabilitation - a life-saving programme which will help save the NHS money.

Local Sinn Fein MLA, Mickey Brady attended the launch of the first ever 6 county Campaign for Cardiac Rehabilitation in Parliament Buildings on Tuesday 13 October. Speaking about the campaign, Mickey Brady stated "This is an extremely important campaign as more than two-thirds of heart attack survivors in the North are missing out on cardiac rehabilitation.

He stated "I would encourage everyone in Newry/Armagh to support the Campaign as cardiac rehabilitation can save lives. It is proven to reduce deaths from heart disease by 27% at two to five years."

Both charities are calling for every heart patient who would benefit from this important service to be offered access to a high quality cardiac rehabilitation programme by the end of 2011. The campaign follows BHF research that found over two-thirds of Northern Ireland heart patients who had a heart attack, an angioplasty or a heart bypass failed to receive this important support programme in 2007-08.

Peter Hollins, BHF Chief Executive said "It is unacceptable that heart patients are not being given the support they need in order to understand their condition and regain a high quality of life again. "(2).

"Recovery for heart patients isn't over once discharged from hospital. It is about patients receiving the ongoing support and care needed to make the necessary changes to their life and get back on their feet again."

Andrew Dougal, NICHS Chief Executive said: "Cardiac rehabilitation is significantly more cost effective than in-patient hospital procedures and can cut unplanned hospital readmissions by up to 30%. (3)Cardiac rehabilitation costs around £600 per patient, this compares to bypass surgery which can cost up to £14,000."

"Millions of pounds are spent each year on cardiac surgery. This campaign is asking that some of that money is spent on this vital life-saving support services. This will ultimately save the NHS valuable resources.

Not only does the campaign aim to address the failure to make referral to cardiac rehabilitation programmes a routine part of treatment for heart attack, angioplasty or coronary bypass patients, but it also calls for other heart conditions such as heart failure, angina and acute coronary syndrome to also have access to this invaluable service.

Additionally, the campaign will work towards addressing the inequalities in access to the service by under-represented groups such as women, ethnic minorities and those in deprived or remote communities.

For more information about the campaign and how to get involved please visit; www.bhf.org.uk or www.nichsa.com