New equipment could save the lives of heart attack patients (From Warrington Guardian)

New equipment could save the lives of heart attack patients

A BEWSEY medical centre can now offer heart attack patients potentially life-saving treatment, thanks to new equipment provided by Lloyds Pharmacy and the British Heart Foundation.

Folly Lane Medical Centre was presented with an automated emergency defibrillator in a bid to save lives in the community.

Recent research funded by the British Heart Foundation has found that GPs equipped with defibrillators can save 60 per cent of lives if the patient is treated immediately or soon after entering cardiac arrest - yet the majority of the UK's 33,000 GPs do not have the life-saving device.

Katharine Peel, head of emergency life support at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Treating a cardiac arrest is a race against time.

"In order to restart the heart and avoid brain damage, a defibrillator must be used as soon as possible. The first one to two minutes are vital and the chances of survival are reduced by seven to 10 per cent every minute that defibrillation is delayed.

"It is therefore vital that defibrillators are available in locations such as GP surgeries to enable victims of cardiac arrest fast access to treatment."

Dr Mike Dennis, at Folly Lane surgery, said: "People need to start taking care of their heart today, in order to prevent serious illness in the future.

"We offer free blood pressure and diabetes testing as well as healthy heart checks as it is hoped that early detection will reduce the incidence of long-term illness."