Dr Ricardo Petraco MD PhD Heart Specialist in London

10/01/2023

Fresh data released on the impact of the pandemic in the UK.

COVID continued to directly kill people in 2022, but also led to a significant increase in excess deaths (not caused by COVID itself).

Why? Disrupted NHS, longer waiting in A&E, difficult to reach GPs, lower diagnosis of high blood pressure, lower rates of prescription of statins and BP pills.

Most affected were man 50-60yo, precisely those who suffer from CV disease.

And before anyone out there links this to vaccines, guess what? The rate of death was HIGHER amongst non-vaccinated people.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64209221.amp

16/12/2022

Thank you The Jeremy Vine for helping us raise awareness about Beat SCAD UK

Dr Ricardo Petraco MD PhD 🫀 shared a post on Instagram: "‼️Have you heard of a SCAD Heart Attack? In this video, I speak to Holly, a young woman who suffered a rarer type of heart attack. I’m very grateful to her for openly speaking to everyone about it, raising awareness of this rare but p...

17/11/2022

‼️Heart failure is the technical name we use to describe a heart which is not pumping blood very well through the body. It’s most commonly caused by a weak heart, but sometimes a stiff heart can cause it too, even when it remains strong.

The most common causes of heart failure are:

1. Previous heart attacks and blocked arteries, which lead to a weak heart muscle due to lack of blood supply.
2. Hypertension. If uncontrolled over the years, high blood pressure can make the heart enlarge and become weak.
3. Chronic and excessive alcohol intake can cause direct damage to the heart muscle, making it weak. This can be reversible if stopped early.
4. Unknown causes. Sometimes we just can’t find the specific cause of heart failure. We call it idiopathic.
5. Other rare conditions such as infection (myocarditis) and inflammation.

To diagnose heart failure your doctor will perform a test called an echocardiogram (ultrasound), some blood tests and a more advanced test called cardiac MRI.