€40m health plan set to combat heart disease

A €40 MILLION action plan to combat heart disease among the 1.4 million people living in the eastern region of the country was launched yesterday.

The aim of the plan is to further reduce cardiovascular disease which is the major cause of death throughout the entire country.

The five-year plan, drawn up by the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA), targets six main areas for action health promotion, primary care, pre-hospital care, cardiac rehabilitation and information gathering and research.

Initiatives include:

Issuing 'health passports' to individuals with heart disease so they get the expert care they need in an emergency.

Providing chest pain assessment services in all hospitals.

Establishing a consultant-led cardiology service in each hospital, with the appointment of significant numbers of additional consultants.

Establishing heart failure services in all hospitals.

A campaign to encourage people to seek immediate medical help if they are experiencing chest pain.

Improving detection and treatment of undiagnosed diabetes in patients with heart disease.

Offering courses to GPs to enable them to help their patients to give up smoking.

Targeting of disadvantaged areas and population groups.

ERHA chief executive Michael Lyons said while deaths from heart disease were declining in the eastern region, it still caused one-quarter of all deaths.

He said hospital discharges in the eastern region were also increasing as a result of increased survival rates.

"Thanks to faster treatment and better medication, living with heart disease remains a reality for thousands of people and their families," he said.

There were also inequalities in the way heart disease affected the eastern region men were twice as likely to die from heart disease than women and there were variations in death rates between health boards.

The Government has already spent €12.52 million in developing heart services in the east in line with the authority's cardiovascular strategy.

Mr Lyons said the authority was committed to implementing the plan but much would depend on a positive partnership approach being adopted by all those involved.

The ERHA is making €100,000 available immediately to promote knowledge in the health services.