Eplerenone / Inspra approved for Heart Failure in Scotland
Jul 10
Eplerenone / Inspra approved for Heart Failure in Scotland
Patients with chronic heart failure are to be offered a new drug which reduces their risk of being hospitalised by almost 40%.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium has approved a new drug, Inspra, for use in adults with the illness after evidence showed it reduced the risk of hospitalisation and death.
Around one in 100 people in Scotland has chronic heart failure. The new drug, also known as Eplerenone, was found to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death or heart failure hospitalisation by 37%.
John McMurray, Professor of Medical Cardiology at Glasgow University, said: “We must continue to do what we can to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease and, importantly, do what we can to reduce the daily impact of the disease on those patients with established illness through optimal management.
“By ensuring patients receive the most effective treatments we can keep them out of hospital which is great for patients and can also help relieve the pressure on healthcare budgets.”
Heart failure occurs when the efficiency of the heart is impaired, resulting in it becoming unable to pump a sufficient amount of blood to meet the demands of the body.
Common causes of heart failure include damage to the heart caused by a heart attack, ischaemic heart disease and high blood pressure.
Tags: Eplerenone, Heart disease, Heart Failure, Hypertension, Inspra, patient, Scotland, Scottish Medicines Consortium 
Posted in Heart Failure Treatment | No Comments
Nearly time to protect against seasonal flu
Sep 24
Nearly time to protect against seasonal flu
Over the next few months it’s the time for Heart Failure patients to get that all important flu jab. An extra two million flu vaccines have been ordered and an emergency “shot-pile”
is being set up as health officials prepare for the flu season.
Last year, 14.7 million shots were ordered. For this winter 16.7 million have been ordered and 400,000 will be kept in reserve.
For the second year running there will be no advertising campaign in England to raise awareness, unlike in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Chief Medical Officer Pro Dame Sally Davies questioned the usefulness of adverts, saying people “listen to trusted sources, not government”. She is instead relying on health workers, charities and pharmacies to target those at risk. Bags of medicine from the pharmacist will carry messages encouraging people to have the jab as “patients in at risk groups are taking medicines,” she said. Last winter more than 600 people in the UK died as a direct result of catching flu.
The vaccine itself, based on advice from the World Health Organization, will again protect against swine flu (H1N1) as well as the H3N2 and Flu B strains.
These are the same three viruses as last winter, but the government’s director of immunisation, Prof David Salisbury, warned patients they would be gambling if they were not immunised again this year.He warned there was no evidence that last year’s shot would still offer protection and that “it’s playing high risk stakes thinking you’re protected”.
Prof Davies again criticised healthcare workers who did not get vaccinated, saying they were “selfish” for not protecting their patients. Last year 35% were vaccinated, up from 26% the year before.
Prof Salisbury said there had been renewed attempts to “persuade, influence and cajole employees”, but there also needed to be improvements within hospitals to make it easier for staff to get vaccinated. He said that at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Foundation NHS Trust, 95% of front-line staff had had the seasonal flu jab, but that figure was as low as 10% in other areas.
So the messsage here is to get vaccinated yourself but ask your Doctor or Nurse if they have been vaccinated and if not why?
Tags: England, Flu season, Influenza, Influenza vaccine, NHS trust, Northern Ireland, Pumping Marvellous, Scotland, World Health Organization
Posted in Heart Failure Carers, Looking after yourself, What you're not told | No Comments
