via BBC News 

During yesterday’s meetings medics mentioned that a 67-year-old man from Needham Market who died after suffering a serious heart attack on Thursday.

The ambulance service was called at just after 1pm to Quinton Road in the town where the man was suffering chest pains.

via Evening Star 24.

Edward Eaton, 64, thought he was suffering a bout of anxiety when he started gasping for breath at his home in West Street, Southend.

He dialled 999 and paramedics Brian Hilberry and Sarah Thorne turned up and quickly spotted his ankles and stomach were swollen, meaning something was seriously wrong with his heart.

via Echo.

The victims could suffer without intravenous drugs until 20 minutes into their journey to one of the regions new heart attack centres because some ambulances are staffed by technicians rather than paramedics, the head of Accident & Emergency at Ipswich Hospital has warned.

Read full article: Evening Star 24.

Data in the 21st century indicate that more than 25% of children treated for in-hospital cardiac arrests survive to hospital discharge and more than 10% of children older than 1 year treated for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests survive to hospital discharge

Read full article: Current Opinion in Critical Care.

Thanks ShockSymposium via Twitter

This study is interesting and enlightening for two reasons. First, studies have shown the maneuver generates very little electrical energy. This study confirms the amount of energy certainly isn’t enough to terminate V Fib. However, there are several problems using this study alone to condemn PT. The very low number of patients in V Tach is concerning.

It’s far fewer than what is generally reported in most U.S. systems. This is most likely a reflection of long response times in this system. The energy required to terminate fresh V Tach is much less than V Fib, and PT continues to be employed in the cardiovascular lab. So there still may be a place for its use. If you can do it without delaying care and the arrest is relatively fresh, there may be benefit.

Read full article: JEMS.com

From ParamedicDaily via Twitter

Read full article: Pulaski County Daily.

From EMS Week via Twitter

Sure, everybody loves a tough notebook — but there are all sorts of gadgets that can benefit from the tough treatment. Adding to the list of electronics suitable for dropping, kicking, and spraying with water, Medtronic’s LIFEPAK 15 — which just received FDA approval, by the by — is a portable heart monitor / defibrillator equipped with all sorts of fun features, including an audible CPR Metronome, a dual-mode color LCD with a high-contrast mode for use in bright sunlight, up to six hours of operating time, and energy dosing for difficult-to-defibrillate patients. Just make sure it’s nice and dry before you plug the paddles in. For reals. Video after the break.

Engadget

Thanks @stuartpin – Twitter

The condition is called atrial fibrillation, and affects one in a 100 people.

Standard surgical techniques have a 40% failure rate. But the new procedure, pioneered at the London Bridge Hospital, has so far proved a complete success.

Cardiologist Dr Richard Schilling told Sky News: “Our initial work using this technique has shown that none of the patients out of the nine we have done so far has had any symptoms at all.

“There seems to be a stunning difference in the first-time success.”

The heart should beat in response to electrical signals that flow across the muscle once every second or so.

Atrial fibrillation is triggered when abnormal tissue in the veins near the heart fire off competing signals, causing rapid, chaotic contractions. The irregular rhythm reduces the amount of blood the heart can pump.

The new procedure first uses the standard technique of microwaves to burn cells, building a barrier of scar tissue that stops the abnormal signals reaching the heart.

Sky News.

NHS North East Essex is to install machines in the homes of patients for nurses to remotely monitor statistics such as blood pressure and pulse rate.

The machine can also remind patients to take medication and eat healthily.

The equipment is being installed over the next six months, with 40 units in operation by September.

The one-year pilot will involve pulmonary disease patients, heart failure patients and others who have just been released from hospital and would benefit from regular checks.

Tracey Buckingham, of NHS North East Essex, said: Most patients would prefer to remain in their own home, and remote telehealth monitoring gives them reassurance that their condition is being managed during periods of uncertainty.

“In addition patients may find that using the machine increases their knowledge and motivates them to be more involved in self-management of their health.”

BBC NEWS

Thanks @stuartpin – Twitter