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Doctors Are to Check Pulse to Prevent 12,000 Strokes a Year
Doctors are being urged to check the pulse of every patient they see.
Research suggests that doing so could prevent 12,000 strokes a year. Charities have called for pulse checks to become a routine part of every GP visit, to help diagnose sufferers of atrial fibrillation.
AF is the most common heart rhythm disturbance, affecting around 800,000 Britons, and causes around one in seven first-time strokes.
The upper chambers of the heart beat faster than normal, allowing blood to pool and generate tiny clots – which can trigger a stroke. The most common symptom is a fast and irregular heartbeat, usually over 140 beats a minute.
A report from the Atrial Fibrillation Association and AntiCoagulation Europe warns of an epidemic of the ‘vastly undertreated’ condition, and calls for routine manual pulse checks that could lead to more patients being diagnosed and treated and prevent thousands of strokes.
The report cites a UK study involving 15,000 patients, which found that GPs identified 50 per cent more cases of AF when they conducted random pulse checks.
Presently, only one in five Britons with AF receives treatment that will cut their risk of stroke – typically with anti-clotting drug warfarin – but AFA chief executive Trudie Lobban said the simple test could save 12,000 a year from AF-related strokes.
Eve Knight, chief executive of the charity AntiCoagulation Europe, said detecting AF and preventing related strokes ‘must be a key priority’.
She said routine pulse checks ‘could revolutionise detection and management’ of AF.
Joe Korner, Director of Communications for The Stroke Association, said ‘Atrial fibrillation is a major risk factor for stroke yet very few people have heard of the condition and even fewer realise that it can increase your risk of stroke by up to five times.
‘In many cases AF related strokes are preventable and blood thinning treatment options can control the condition and keep your stroke risk down. The Stroke Association fully supports the calls to action outlined in this report and would like to see more people asking their doctor for a pulse check if they are worried.’
A Department of Health spokesman said: 'The Government is determined to improve the detection, diagnosis and management of Atrial Fibrillation.
'That is why, for example, NHS Improvement has developed a number of different approaches to increase the detection of Atrial Fibrillation among high risk groups in primary care.
'NHS Improvement also is working with the Atrial Fibrillation Association to raise awareness of AF.'
Date: 14/12/2011
Source: Dailymail.co.uk
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