A quick and free pop up heart check up clinic arrived in Byker, encouraging anyone over the age of 60 to have their heart checked by medical professionals and to raise awareness of Heart Valve Disease.
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00:00My name is Dr. Mohamed Al-Khalil. I'm a consultant, interventional cardiologist and a structural heart specialist.
00:06We're here today in Newcastle, Sunnybiker, to raise awareness about valvular heart disease.
00:10This is a silent disease and we're trying to raise awareness among the public and individuals here within the community
00:16about the importance of this disease and the need to seek medical attention should patients or should individuals have any symptoms.
00:23Heart specialists from Newcastle, a Funtang Hospital Trust, are raising awareness of heart valve disease,
00:30which is believed to affect over 185,000 people aged 60 and over in the Northeast.
00:36Many appear well undiagnosed.
00:38HVD can put serious strain on the heart, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke and death.
00:44The good news, a quick two-minute spethosol check can detect the disease early.
00:48So, heart valve disease is a disease that we acquired as we get older, unfortunately.
00:55It varies between both narrowing of heart valves and leaking of the heart valves.
01:00All these diseases could be treated, either with open heart surgery or with a transcatheter intervention,
01:07which is basically a minimal invasive procedure that we could perform from the groin.
01:12We reach the heart and then we put a new valve or fix the valve if it's leaking.
01:17Today, here at the retail car park in Biker, locals are getting checked out.
01:23This should be quite wise.
01:25So, I'm just going to throw this here quickly.
01:26So, you know, the purpose of today is basically to listen to your heart, check things and see whether there's any murmurs or any problem with the heart.
01:34Yes.
01:34Well, it was quite a relief to hear that there's nothing wrong with the valves of my heart,
01:41but I will still be following up on the doctor's advice and he's suggesting that there might be some pressure that the doctor could check on my heart.
01:50I think they are really ideal facilities and I was in two minds whether to do it.
01:57But as I said previously, it had crossed my mind that there might be something because of the exertion that I feel when I'm going up in planes.
02:07For people at home who have not managed to get in here today to see us, we're just trying to raise awareness of valvular heart disease.
02:17So, if there's anybody who's feeling symptomatic at all, it can be sort of symptoms such as a little bit of breathlessness on exertion.
02:24So, even when you're just trying to climb up the stairs, it's feeling a bit more breathless than you normally would or a bit, you know, more fatigued than normal.
02:31Dizzy spells when you're trying to go out for family walks or walking the dog, but I encourage you to go and get checked out.
02:37People know their own bodies, you know, when something's different.
02:41Go and get checked out.
02:42Go to your GP and a simple listen in with a stethoscope can very easily detect any valvular heart disease.
02:51You would then be referred to have an echo scan of the heart, which could then save your life.