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www.heartpodcast.org
a new educational medium for physicians, by physicians and for patients, by patients.
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‘Know Your Pulse’
Arrhythmia Awareness Week & World Heart Rhythm Week
8th – 14th June 2009
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With over 1100 events across the UK , from the Orkney Islands to the Channel Islands , this year's Arrhythmia Awareness Week 8 th – 14 th June has proved the most successful event in the charity's history. Internationally, World Heart Rhythm Week saw more than 250 events taking place across the globe.
The ‘Know Your Pulse' campaign has taken awareness of cardiac arrhythmias to a new level. For months, Arrhythmia Alliance (A-A) has been inundated with medical and public enquiries for materials, including the infamous Pulse Check Card. More than 100,000 Pulse Check Cards were posted to supporters aiming to increase understanding of this simple health check procedure as a means to identifying potential cardiac arrhythmias. |
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Parliamentary Reception
The week kicked off at the House of Commons, where over 100 patients, carers, medical professionals, industry representatives, leading government figureheads and MPs gathered to celebrate the international success of Arrhythmia Alliance. |
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Nurses were available to teach patients and MPs how to ‘know their pulse’ and one patient member presented a cheque of £1,172 following the triathlon he completed in aid of the charity. The launch officially opened with a speech from the Stratford MP, John Maples, to celebrate the presence of A-A in the House of Commons and the continued important work and success of the charity.
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Following his introduction to the reception, Professor A. John Camm, President of A-A Executive Committee, took to the podium to emphasise the importance of improving arrhythmia services, not only in the UK, but across the globe. His admiration was extended to the success of the ‘Know Your Pulse’ campaign and the importance of raising public and professional awareness of this simple health check procedure. He complimented the exemplary role of A-A Sweden in contributing to improved arrhythmia services in Europe. |
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Gritt Liebing, an ICD patient from Germany, was invited to speak. She gave a passionate testimony on the challenges in her life. Read her story |
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Professor Roger Boyle, National Director for Heart Disease and Stroke succeeded Camm in reinforcing his support for the charity and its ongoing work. Professor Boyle stressed the pivotal role of A-A in the collaborative provision of educational resources and patient support, especially considering the prevalence and impact of cardiac arrhythmias on the national health agenda. |
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The reception closed with a profound message from the Founder and Trustee of Arrhythmia Alliance, Trudie Lobban. She celebrated the extent to which the charity had grown since its inception six years ago and the clear move towards a wider international coalition for the future. Trudie concluded by announcing that the success of the ‘Know Your Pulse’ campaign meant it could no longer be kept to a week long event. Rather, it would join the spectrum of A-A projects with the aim of making pulse checks a routine check for patients visiting their GPs. |
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Following the launch, an Early Day Motion was tabled by John Maples and since Monday 8th June, more than 38 Members of Parliament have added their signatures in support of the charity. |
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Events 8th – 14th June
Throughout the week, events took place regionally and nationally by supporting individuals, groups and organisations. Support from key figures Sir Roger Moore, Anthony Blair and Gordon Brown, and over 100 championing organisations, confirmed the reputation of this truly global campaign. Patron and leading advocate, Sir Roger Moore, starred in a DVD taking his own pulse, to help raise awareness of ‘Know Your Pulse’.
Arrhythmia nurses, GPs and other medical and healthcare professionals took to the streets, supermarkets and schools to run ‘Cardiac Cafés’, Pulse Check Clinics and sessions all over the UK and internationally. Such efforts succeeded in educating members of the public on how to be more in touch with their personal health. Through the impact of such awareness-raising events, tens of thousands of people were reached.
Individuals supported the campaign by holding displays and distributing literature and posters to schools, GP surgeries, hospitals, medical centres, care homes, work places, and community centres. These local initiatives helped to raise awareness of heart rhythm disorders and the ‘Know Your Pulse’ campaign amongst those with no prior knowledge of cardiac arrhythmias.
With the huge number of events taking place, media coverage reached an ultimate high. Trudie Lobban did 12 consecutive radio interviews for stations including BBC Oxford, Manx Radio, BBC Derby and Sunrise Bradford. In the press, the Daily Mail, Daily Star and Daily Express covered the Know Your Pulse campaign. Locally and regionally, the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald reported on the MP John Maples having his pulse taken at the Parliamentary Launch and awareness-raising events were highlighted in the Midlands, Yorkshire, Scotland and Orkney Islands.
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World Heart Rhythm Week (WHRW) 2009
Charitable organisations from across the world translated and distributed the Arrhythmia Alliance ‘Know Your Pulse’ check cards in a nationwide campaign. From Chinese to Persian, the Pulse Check Card is being used as an education tool across the globe to teach people of the importance of taking their pulse as a means to identifying potential cardiac arrhythmias.
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Arrhythmia Alliance Japan celebrated World Heart Rhythm Week with the launch of their new website www.heartjapan.org/ja/ |
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Arrhythmia Alliance Sweden celebrated their official launch at the Arrhythmia Awareness Week Parliamentary Reception in the House of Commons, 8 June 2009. View A-A Sweden's ‘Know Your Pulse' video on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MyTU7JNLQM |
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A-A Affiliates launched national campaigns to promote WHRW |
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Portugal’s national campaign, ‘Bate bate coracao – sinta o seu ritmo’ translated to ‘Beat beat of your heart – feel the rhythm’ promoted WHRW by distributing information on arrhythmias, diagnosis and treatment and offering pulse check sessions to the community in major hospitals. |
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PACE (Prevent Arrhythmic Cardiac Events), South Africa
PACE has embarked on a ‘Know Your Pulse' campaign with Click Pharmacies nationwide by distributing pulse check cards and engaging the public to learn how to ‘Know Your Pulse' through |
| quizzes, stickers, and prizes. They are already planning next year's WHRW activities to coincide with the 2010 Soccer World Cup taking place in South Africa . |
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Know Your Pulse by Sir Roger Moore - click here to watch Roger take his pulse! |
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Welcome to the patient page, where we will try to answer the questions you may have about arrhythmia.
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A cardiac arrhythmia is where the heart beats too fast, too slow or beats irregularly. It covers a range of conditions from a transient loss of consciousness (T-LOC) and Reflex Anoxic Seizures, to Cardiomyopathy and Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (read more)
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Who should investigate an arrhythmia?
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Troublesome palpitations should be investigated by your local cardiologist. If catheter ablation techniques are required then you will need to see a specialist cardiologist called an interventional electrophysiologist.
You can find a local specialist at drfoster.co.uk
Non-UK residents can find a specialist at the Heart Rhythm Society
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Read about different arrhythmias, their causes symptoms and the types of treatment in detail here. This page is regularly updated with information on arrhythmia and has proved to be invaluable to sufferers in the past
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Case Studies - Read first hand accounts from Arrhythmia sufferers and their families
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The Arrhythmia Alliance has published several booklets on various forms of arrhythmia and their treatments. These can be downloaded here
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Read the questions most frequently asked by arrhythmia patients.
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Still got questions?
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If we have not answered your question(s) on the above pages or if you have further questions, please contact us. If you are a member of the Arrhythmia Alliance, you can post on our community forum
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Peace of Mind with MedicAlert |
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Medical Identification ensures that in an emergency situation those around you would know that you have a hidden medical condition. Wearing an Emblem also ensures that all information on medical conditions, medications, and next of kin is available.
Click here to read more information. |
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Copyright © Arrhythmia Alliance
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