- 10/01/2017
- Posted by: Mike Hedges MS
- Category: Press Releases
Mike Hedges WELCOMES NEWS that Cardiac care is improving in Wales
Welsh Labour’s Health Secretary Vaughan Gething has said that fewer people are dying from cardiovascular disease in Wales thanks to improvements in care, but more can be done.
Mike said… ‘I greatly welcome this news; I have met many people during my time as AM for Swansea East who have been affected by Coronary Heart Disease. The news today will offer comfort and hope for these people. I would urge everyone to take advantage of enhanced screening for CHD which will become more widely available. I look forward to further improvements in survival rates.’
He made the comments as he published the Welsh Labour Government’s refreshed Heart Conditions Delivery Plan.
The latest figures show that the number of people dying from cardiovascular disease in Wales fell by almost 1,000 people a year between 2010 and 2015. Hospital admissions for coronary heart disease also fell by 21% over the last five years thanks to better management of the condition. The British Heart Foundation recently described Wales as a world leader in cardiac rehabilitation, due to the significant increase in the number of patients receiving the service following a heart attack.
Plans for improvement include:
- The development of an out of hospital cardiac arrest plan to improve survival rates.
- Targeting resources at hard to reach groups, and development of community cardiology clinics where early diagnosis and treatment can be offered closer to a patients’ home.
- Improved access to Familial Hypercholesterolaemia testing for people who have very high cholesterol levels, or who have a personal or family history of premature vascular disease as well as testing for close family members.
- Work with Health and Care Research Wales to increase the number of heart condition research studies undertaken in Wales and to increase research relating to children and young people.
The refreshed Heart Conditions Delivery Plan can be found here.
