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The NHS provides inadequate services for preventing falls and fractures in older patients, according to a national clinical audit¹ published recently. There is a gap between what NHS organisations claim to provide, in terms of commissioning, protocols or structure, and the actual care provided, it claims.

Dr Ben Glover, Consultant Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist, reports from the Heart Rhythm Congress 2011, held recently in San Francisco. He highlights some of the advances in cardiac devices, a novel computational mapping system for AF ablation, as well as the role of genetic testing in inherited conditions.

The annual Falls Awareness Week will be held from the 20th to the 24th of June 2011 by Age UK, encouraging national awareness of the causes and consequences of dangerous falls amongst the elderly. The key message of this year’s campaign is ‘Watch your Step’ – a push to promote activities that may help to prevent falls in later life, from regular eye tests and walking stick maintenance, to organized strength and balance exercises.

While care for patients with stroke has improved over the past 12 years, key areas of concern remain, according to the final report of a national audit published recently by the Royal College of Physicians.¹

The aldosterone antagonist eplerenone significantly reduces new onset atrial fibrillation and flutter (AFF) in patients with class 2 heart failure, according to a sub-analysis¹ of the EMPHASIS-HF (Eplerenone in Mild Patients Hospitalization And Survival Study in Heart Failure) trial presented recently at the European Society of Cardiology’s (ESC) Heart Failure Congress 2011.

Blood donation could provide a unique opportunity for population wide surveillance screening for the early detection of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, according to American research presented recently at EuroPRevent 2011 in Geneva.

Risk of death in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and type 2 diabetes can be substantially reduced by hypertension treatment with perindopril/indapamide, according to findings announced recently by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).¹

Regulatory controls and safety testing for cardiovascular devices in Europe are in need of reform, according to calls from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) set out by a paper¹ published recently in the European Heart Journal.