Living with Heart Failure

That the Parliament warmly welcomes the visit to the Parliament of people living with heart failure and their supporters and carers from across Scotland as part of the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland and Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS) organised reception in the Garden Lobby on 7 March 2007; notes that heart failure is a serious and debilitating condition for which there is no cure and which affects around 100,000 people in Scotland; acknowledges that specialist heart failure services can reduce unnecessary hospital visits, massively improve quality of life for sufferers and carers and, most importantly, prevent premature deaths, and supports the call from BHF Scotland and CHSS that the Scottish Executive should conduct a national review of the provision of specialist heart failure services across Scotland and give a commitment that every person living with heart failure has access to specialist care in their local community.