Lord Black campaigns to raise awareness of stroke caused by under-diagnosed heart condition   

Lord Black is leading a campaign to raise awareness of atrial fibrillation (AF), a heart condition that causes an irregular pulse and increases a person’s risk of stroke by four to five times.

Because AF does not always cause symptoms, some people are unaware they have the condition. The Government estimates that 700,000 people in the UK may have the condition without knowing it, and so might be at increased risk of having a stroke.

In order to riase awareness, on the 10th November he sponsored a AF walk in clinic in the House of Lords on preventing strokes and blood clots which screened over 50 people. 

GPs and other healthcare professionals can identify AF through a simple pulse check, and the risk of having a stroke can be reduced through treatment with anticoagulants that are recommended by NICE. 

In England it is estimated that 1.4 million people have AF, 2.4 per cent of the adult population. However, about 474,000 of those are not diagnosed and therefore not treated with anticoagulants that would help reduce their risk of stroke.

To raise awareness of AF Lord Black hosted a walk-in clinic with the charity AntiCoagulation Europe, which was funded by Bayer HealthCare. 

Eve Knight, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of AntiCoagulation Europe, said:

“With stroke the largest cause of death in Europe, and a major cause of adult disability, it’s vital that more is done to detect and diagnose AF and then minimise the risk of stroke by providing appropriate medication.  People with AF should be given information about anticoagulation and have access to the full range of NICE-recommended treatment options.” 

“I’m delighted to see Lord Black tackling this important health issue and raising awareness of AF and stroke prevention in Parliament”

ENDS

Lord Black recently spoke in the House of Lords about the condition. It can be read here.