do you know your blood pressure?

[rich]

Why not give yourself and your loved ones a really great Christmas present?
Go and have your blood pressure measured.
That way you will ensure that you are around for next Christmas and not lying in the morgue having succumbed to heart attack or stroke.
I don't know what your stats are in Scotland but in Canada only 16% of people with high blood pressure have it under control.
Yet simple lifestyle changes and easy-to-take medications will do the trick.
I'm currently working on a press release outlining the connection between Alzheimer's disease and micro-strokes caused by high blood pressure. Apparently you can walk around with Alzheimer's pathology and be quite normal. But the combination of Alzheimer's and micro-strokes - often they don't even have symptoms - is a very grave diagnosis indeed.
Which leads me to another question. Is there a stroke centre in Caithness? Neurologists say that in stroke: "time is brain." SO how long would it take a resident of Caithness who is having a stroke to get treatment? The window of opportunity for treatment that can stop stroke damage in its tracks is 3 hours.

[George Brims]

110 over 68, thanks.

In answer to the question about a stroke centre, there isn't one specifically, but the fine people at Caithness General managed to save my mum last year when she had one. Unfortunately she was well outside that 3 hour window by the time she was found on the floor of her wee hoose in Watten and rushed in there. But most importantly - there is no CAT scan or MRI in Caithness, the nearest being at Raigmore. After a stroke, the most important thing to determine is whether it's a blood clot blocking a blood vessel, or a hemorrhage. Treatments are diametrically opposite for those two eventualities, both called "strokes". Access to the right kind of diagnostic equipment can obviously improve a person's chances of getting the right treatment fast enough to make a difference. Fundraising campaign anyone?

[Bill Fernie]

Picking up your point on the Scanner. Caithness General Hospital has been offered upt £375,000 for the purchase and installation, computers etc as well as telephone links to Raigmore for the consultants. the offer was made folling a request by a consultant in the hospital.
However to date the hospital have not agreed to accept this incredible donation. They are trying to identify the running costs. I have asked about this at a Health Forum meeting where Mr Carey the man in charge of trust was speaking. No assurances were given that they would pick up this money. the hotel trust offereing it wish to have the money accepted soon or they may offer it to another hospital.
for anyone wishing to campaign all they need to do is write a few letters asking why this money has not yet been accepted. It is an incredible offer and the staff who asked for it were cpompletley taken aback when their request came back with such a positive reply - basically the money is offered when can you take it. Now as time passes Caithness General is in danger of losing this money so generously offered. I intend to keep asking questions but anyone else in Caithness is welcome to add their weight to this campaign. The money is already there. Certainly runing costs which might mean a couple of readiographer posts etc are an issue but the chance may never come again.
Also the total capital budget availabel to highland Health Board is £12million to cover everything from repairs to new equipment all over the Highlands. Here is up to £375,000 on offer for A large and expensive piece of equipment. I hope it can be accepted and that people with strokes do not require to be taken off to Raigmore or Aberdeen for their scan. the window of opportnity for saving people quality of life as has been pointed out is desperately short. If the scanner were in the Caithness General many people might benefit.
There are up to a dozen people a week who need to go south for scans for various illnesses and the long journeys would not be required unless to see a specialist. but the scans could be carried out in the north.
I am sure this will be of interest to those who are not aware of this. The announcement about the scanner money was in a small paragraph in the Groat some time ago but many may have forgotten and assumed it was coming or had not seen the article.

[rich]

Here's why CAT scans are crucial in stroke.
We now have a drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) which actually dissolves the clots that block arteries and blood vessels in the brain causing stroke.
This type of stroke is called an ischemic stroke.
Administered within a three hour period tPA can effectively end an ischemic stroke. It is not unusual for a stroke patient to be restored to perfect normality within minutes of receivinig tPA. Even in a worse case scenario a great deal of stroke damage can be stopped.
But there's a fly in the ointment.
There are two types of stroke .
The second type is called a hemmorhagic stroke and it is caused by bleeding in the brain.
If you administer tPA to a patient with hemorrhagic stroke the drug will actually make the bleeding worse and could even kill the patient.
That's where you need a CAT scan machine to see inside the brain and ascertain the type of stroke.
Don't mess around with this issue, Caithness. Get the scan. The life that's saved could be yours or your loved ones.

[rich]

And on the subject of running expenses for a CAT scan just think how much it costs the healtcare system to look after people recovering from stroke!

[Donnie]

They would have a bit more money to spend on health care if they didn't waste it on equal rights projects. Aberdeen Royal Infirmary has just started work building its first Mosque.

[George Brims]

Bill, please list some names and addresses for those of us ready and willing to write letters in support of the hospital acquiring this scanner.

[rich]

If the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario can do anything, please let me know.

[trinkie]

Rich, thanks for starting this.
You mentioned making changes to lifestyles,
what do you have in mind?
I'd welcome some pointers.
Thank you.

S.D.

[rich]

I'm not a doctor but this is what I am told at countless briefings and press conferences on high blood pressure. This info is Canadian but I don't think things are too different in Caithness.

1) Vitamins are useless at reversing heart disease and stroke. Numerous clinical trials show this. Trials have been conducted with Vitamin E and multivitamins and the results have been a big thumbs down.

2) If you already have heart disease you cannot reverse it. But you can slow it down. And you can even prevent it developing if you get your risk factors under control.

3) Risk factors include a family history, smoking, obesity, cholesterol imbalance, and sitting around a lot watching television, and just plain getting old.

4) Exercise has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack by 25%. You need to exercise at least 7 hours a week; vigorous walking or jogging is the best work-out; try and do 22 miles a week.
.
5) All diets work to help you lose weight - for a bit.But most folk backslide and pack the weight back on. Better to adopt some plain common sense about your diet. We are genetically programmed to stuff ourselves because back in cave man days we had to hunt - Great exercise!- but feast and famine physiology is lethal when all you have to hunt down is the local supermarket.

6) Try this: Drink lots of soy protein. It can llower cholesterol by 5%. Eat oatmeal (porrige) raw is OK. Take it with skimmed milk or fat free yogurt. Being a vegetarian is very very good for you.

6) Fish - the secret weapon. Eating fatty fish like mackerel, tuna or salmon decreases your risk of heart attack or stroke almost by half. If you dont like fish try capsules of fish oil, 1,000 milligrams daily.

7) Vitamin D and calcium supplements will decrease your bone fracture risk by 50% and yes, guys DO get osteoporosis.

8) Eat fewer packaged goods - they all contain sugar and salt. Throw away your salt shaker, toss out your sugar.(The average Canadian is eating about 50 teaspoons of sugar a day or 110 pounds of sugar a year!)

9) We should be eating 5 to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables daily. And 25 grams of fiber.

10) Use olive oil for cooking or vegetable oil.

11) Eat 5 to 10 servings of grain a day. Eat more whole grain products. Choose dark green and orange coloured vegetables more often. Increase milk products to 3 or 4 servings a day, choosing skim milk of yogurt with less than 2% fat and cheese less than 20% milk fat.


12) If you like to eat meat buy only lean cuts or skinless poultry.

13) A good diet is the DASH diet - invented by the American heart Association. Google their web site.

[Bill Fernie]

Regarding the scanner money on offer to Caithness General.

The man in charge is -
Mr Richard Carey, Chief Executive
Raigmore Hospital
Old Perth Road
Inverness
IV2 3UJ

I would suggest anyone interested in supporting accepting this money writes to him and copies the letter to
Highland Health Board
Highland Health Board,
Beechwood Park,
Inverness, IV2 3HG

And if anyone want to really higlight the issue there is always the
Health Minister
Malcolm Chisholm
all his contact details can be found at -
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/biogs/chisolm_malcolm.htm

I certainly think this is too good an offer to be allowed to slip past the Caithness community.

Despite our current threat to Maternity services here is a golden opportunity to improve things for many conditions andd save quality of life and possibly even prevnet the odd death not to mention all that travelling to Inverness

[rich]

Bill, does your mannie have an e-mail adress?

[JAWS]

rich,
thought I'd try and help by checking their site -
http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/haht/news/index.htm

If you can find any reference to emails then you are far better than me - they seem not to be that far advanced.

But check this page -
http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/haht/news/index.htm

Almost two million from the lottery in Sept 03 for heart and stroke treatments !!!!
And already they have no money for Caithness General ????

[George Brims]

Bill, do you know what kind of scanner it is they are proposing?

[Colin Manson]

Bill, do you know what kind of scanner it is they are proposing?

I hope it's a flatbed scanner and not a pass through one :roll:

[trinkie]

Thank you for all of that information.
My letters have been sent - Can I suggest that when you have done yours, run off some copies for you to give to friends for them to sign and submit also.
This would save people some time and encourage more to write.

Rich - I am working on your advice .....thank you.