The North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus coronary heart disease collaborative has been working in the East Marsh area of Grimsby to raise awareness of risk factors relating to coronary heart disease.
The collaborative have been focusing on encouraging people who have not already had blood pressure checks to have them by offering them in community settings. Hypertension (high blood pressure) puts a strain on the heart and can lead to coronary heart disease.
Blood pressure testing has been carried out in Ron Ramsdens superstore, Asda, Harbour Place Day Centre, Your Place, and Grimsby Central Library as well as Freeman Street market. By attending venues such as these the collaborative members have the opportunity to encourage people to visit their GP for further checks.
This work constituted part of a pilot scheme which is now to be extended to all areas in North East Lincolnshire.
Initial data provides a useful insight in to successful intervention locations. 75 per cent of patients referred on to GPs for further checking and management by the collaborative members have resulted in actual attendances at GP surgeries.
Julie Grimmer and Martin Wakefield, joint collaborative project managers, said: “Coronary heart disease is the UK's biggest killer, with one in every four men and one in every six women dying from the disease. In the UK, approximately 300,000 people have a heart attack each year.
“By offering people free blood pressure checks we can identify if they may be potentially be at risk from coronary heart disease and recommend a follow up appointment with their GP.”
The coronary heart disease collaborative is always looking for enthusiastic new team members of all ages to help raise awareness among the general public. For further information about the collaborative, please contact Julie Grimmer or Martin Wakefield (01472) 232261/67.