News

For as far back as I can remember, 10,000 steps a day has been the Holy Grail of daily physical activity, with the promise of better health and fitness if only we can incorporate 10,000 paces into our day. The principle sounds easy but it is a fairly elusive target for those with sedentary occupations

The British Heart Foundation estimates that 1.4 million people in the UK today have survived a heart attack. It also estimates that some 30,000 people a year suffer a heart attack outside of a hospital setting (known as OHCA, or an “out-of-hospital cardiac arrest”), and of those 30,000, only 1 in 10 survive. The world

October is National Cholesterol Month in the UK, a month-long initiative to raise awareness of the dangers of high cholesterol and measures that an individual can take to reduce theirs. There are several components that together make up the blood cholesterol level, the two major components being LDL (low density lipoprotein) and HDL (high density

29th September is World Heart Day, established by the World Heart Federation in conjunction with the World Health Organization to help increase awareness of cardiovascular disease and how it can be prevented. The latest statistics from the British Heart Foundation estimate that today alone in the UK 460 people will die from cardiovascular disease. For

In recent times tabloid newspapers and medical journals alike have been ablaze with articles about semaglutide (also known as Wegovy and Ozempic), both positive and negative. Many celebrities have endorsed it as a weight loss drug, but it was first developed as a drug for diabetics, to help control their blood sugar. It works by

According the British Heart Foundation around 15 million people in the UK have high blood pressure, and of those, at least half are not receiving effective treatment. Given that 50% of all heart attacks and strokes in the UK are associated with high blood pressure, the importance of achieving consistently optimal blood pressure control cannot

In last month’s article “What’s blood pressure go to to do with it?” we spoke about the importance of maintaining good blood pressure control and the potential consequences of persistently high readings. Standard blood pressure monitoring devices involve a cuff around the upper arm, which is either inflated manually by a doctor using a sphygmomanometer

News broke yesterday of the death of rock legend Tina Turner, and alongside the outpouring of grief and celebration of all she contributed to the music world, attention has turned to her possible cause of death and her health battles in recent years. In an Instagram post uploaded on International World Kidney Day on 9th

It has long been acknowledged that what we eat and drink affects our health, but with so many different diets out there it can be hard to know which, if any, to follow. For people with cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high levels of the unhealthy cholesterols, physical inactivity, use of tobacco

Back in January 2021 we cautioned patients with pacemakers and ICDs about the risk posed to them from smartphones, particularly if stored in a pocket over the cardiac device site (see here). Now it’s time to turn the spotlight on smart watches. Smart watches and some either types of wearable technology such as fitness trackers

Back in December 2019 we were very excited by the results of the Hygia Chronotherapy Trial, which suggested that taking blood pressure medication in the evening instead of the morning led to better blood pressure control, and, better still, a lower risk of heart attack and stroke. However, a more recent study, the Treatment in

Updated – July 2023 The British Heart Foundation estimates that 1.4 million people in the UK today have survived a heart attack. It also estimates that some 30,000 people a year suffer a heart attack outside of a hospital setting (known as OHCA, or an “out-of-hospital cardiac arrest”), and of those 30,000, only 1 in