ARRHYTHMIA ALLIANCE KNOW YOUR PULSE INITIATIVE

That this House congratulates the Arrhythmia Alliance on the Know Your Pulse initiative to raise awareness amongst the public and the NHS of this basic health check to detect potentially fatal heart rhythm disorders; notes that in 2007 the Department of Health estimated that there were over 600,000 patients in England living with the most common arrhythmia atrial fibrillation which is also a leading cause of stroke; recalls that 150,000 strokes occur every year in the UK, a rate of 410 per day and 17 per hour, and that 15 per cent. of strokes are associated with atrial fibrillation alone; recognises that people with an arrhythmia have a dramatically reduced quality of life and face serious long-term health complications including stroke or sudden death; supports efforts to increase the rate of early identification of heart rhythm disorders in order to reduce premature deaths from heartbeat disorders and other co-morbidities, such as heart failure and hypertension; believes that the most effective way to achieve this is to place pulse checks on a procedural par with weight and blood pressure tests in GP surgeries; and calls on the Government to facilitate an improvement in the timely and effective diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmias.