Paramedic students set hearts a flutter

Paramedic students set hearts a flutter as they handed out hundreds of Valentine’s cards to fellow students at the University of Greenwich and Brighton University.

Valentine's

The cards, courtesy of the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb), highlighted the main controllable risk factors associated with coronary heart disease - the UK’s number one killer - along with advice about when to call 999 for a suspected heart attack.

“It’s not something you usually think about,” said one 20-year-old student, “you normally associate heart problems with older people.”

Although not a high risk group for heart attacks, the students believed that an awareness of heart health was important; both in terms of how what they do now will affect them later in life, and knowing when to call 999 if somebody nearby suffers a heart attack.

Awareness on campus ranged from the well-informed to the not so knowledgeable. Many were interested in improving their clarity about the symptoms of a heart attack; their knowledge being refined to ‘a kind of chest pain.’

Other heart attack symptoms include: the chest pain spreading to the arms, neck, back or stomach, feeling light headed or dizzy, shortness of breath, and also feeling nauseous or vomiting.

SECAmb has links with undergraduate programmes at both universities. David Kerr, course leader at the University of Greenwich, said: “I am delighted that our student Paramedics were keen to support this important initiative from SECAmb to highlight the controllable risk factors in coronary heart disease.”

A heart attack is caused when the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually by a blood clot. The lack of blood to the heart can seriously damage the heart muscles and if left untreated, the muscles will begin to die, but unblocking the vessel can prevent this.

SECAmb Medical Director, Dr Jane Pateman, said: “Students can play their part by recognising the signs of a heart attack and acting quickly. It could be their mum, granny, or uncle having a heart attack, or somebody they just happen to witness in the street.

“Damage to heart muscle caused during an attack can be undone, provided the warning signs are spotted and the patient is treated quickly. Younger people can do their bit by calling 999 straight away if they believe somebody is suffering a heart attack.”

Heart attacks are one of the leading causes of death in England. Each year in England, an estimated 111,000 people have a heart attack.

Over the last decade, death rates from heart attacks in England have fallen by around 25% as changes in treatment have become available.