Dorset Cardiology Practice, Dorset Private Medical Clinic, The Poundbury Clinic, Middlemarsh Street, Dorchester (2026)

My 10+ years of training and clinical experience in the field of interventional cardiology, has largely driven my focus on coronary risk and prevention – encouraging holistic physical and mental wellbeing.

04/11/2022

COVID and its effect on the heart

Earlier this year researchers from Queen Mary University of London looked at the combined evidence from 110 previous Covid-19 studies and found that unvaccinated individuals who contract the virus when they already have high blood pressure, diabetes or major heart damage are up to nine times more likely to suffer serious outcomes - including death, lung failure, admission to intensive care and kidney problems.

The researchers also found that unvaccinated individuals with pre-existing high blood pressure, diabetes or heart artery disease had a two to three-fold increased risk of death, and up to 2.5-fold increased risk of other Covid-19 related complications.

The researchers said that the burden of heart disease caused by Covid-19 was becoming “a dominant public health concern” and highlighted the importance of vaccination to protect against infection and reduce cardiac risks. So please make sure you get you booster vaccination as soon as it becomes available.

24/10/2022

Best time for bed

Do you stay up late or have an erratic bedtime routine? If you do, it might be a good idea to establish a regular routine as researchers from the University of Exeter found that people who fell asleep between 10pm and 11pm had lower rates of heart disease compared with those with earlier or later bedtimes.

The body’s internal clock – circadian rhythm - may be more likely to be disrupted by very early or very late bedtimes and this study showed that there might be adverse consequences for cardiovascular health. This study only proved there was an association, and not a causal link, but the European Society of Cardiology offers similar advice and suggests that getting between 6-8 hours a night is the sweet spot for good cardiovascular health.

19/10/2022

What is troponin?

When doctors think a person has had a heart attack, they perform a blood test for troponin, a protein that is released into the bloodstream when the heart is damaged. If there are increased levels of troponin, that’s an indicator there has been a heart attack.

There is one snag with the test, and picking up on the theme of our first post, it’s because it’s not always as effective at identifying a heart problem in women. The amount of troponin released into the blood is often smaller in women and the standard blood test has sometimes failed to pick it up.

The good news is that the British Heart Foundation has funded the development of a new high sensitivity troponin blood test, and although not yet widely available, it will be more widely available. To read more about the research look here https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/medical/ask-the-experts/heart-attack-test-for-women

For more information about troponin this article has a lot of information https://www.healthline.com/health/troponin-levels

Address

Dorset Private Medical Clinic, The Poundbury Clinic, Middlemarsh Street
Dorchester
DT13FD

Telephone

+447557376983

Website

https://dorsetcardiologypractice.com/

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Dorset Cardiology Practice