Articles tagged ‘awareness’

The theme of this year’s World Stroke Day, which was held on 29 October, was “One in Six”, referring to the fact that one in six people will have a stroke at some point in their lifetime, and that a stroke will be the cause of someone’s death every six seconds. These, says the World Stroke Organization (WSO), are everyday people leading everyday lives, but around 85% of them will have risk factors which, if identified, are preventable.

As the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2009 draws ever closer, the evidence in favour of a healthy lifestyle for the prevention of cardiovascular disease grows ever stronger. While there will be numerous presentations of specific interest to Arrhythmia Watch, prevention is the highlight theme of this year’s event, which will take place in Barcelona from 29 August to 2 September. Lifestyle factors are heavily on the agenda.

Arrhythmias are a major UK health issue. Recognising this, an alliance of patients, carers, patient groups, community groups, healthcare professionals, government and allied professionals have come together in June to educate members of the public about “Knowing your pulse”.

In the UK, there are currently more than two million people with (diagnosed and undiagnosed) arrhythmias, including 1.2 million people with atrial fibrillation (AF). Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the UK’s biggest killer, killing more people than lung cancer, breast cancer and AIDS combined.