Berwick Area Heart Support Group
april 2008 newsletter
Berwick Area Heart Support Group Next meeting Wednesday April 2nd at the day Hospital, Berwick Infirmary from 7.00pm – 9.00pm Guest speaker: Kathy Tiernan
Kathy Tiernan, has been practising alternative therapies for more than 15 years. She trained as an aromatherapist at the London School of Aromatherapy, qualifying in 1992 then continued training and achieved an ITEC Diploma in stress management, and a City and Guilds Counselling Skills Diploma. In 1998 she undertook a 3 year training program in Shiatsu and Oriental Medicine in Newcastle, qualifying as a Shiatsu practitioner in 2001.
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Donations & Ideas
Most of you will be aware that we are affiliated to the British Heart Foundation, and that this means our fundraising must be restricted to obtaining money only for our group’s needs. We need to pay for our printer and for distribution of the Newsletter although Terry does the printing at home and we have relied on members doing a lot of the distribution by hand. Terry’s amazing website still attracts a lot of attention and also needs regular payment. We have received money in the past from the BHF and NHS (and we do not pay for our meetings at the Day Hospital). We receive occasional donations in money and ‘in kind’ from local charities: Salmon Lodge & Jus’ Rol, for example.
A special THANK YOU this month to our own members, Jean Fair and Susan Hughes. Generous individual donations like this help keep us going! You will be aware that many people read our Newsletter even if they cannot attend meetings. We will be able to keep this coming as long as writers do not run out of materials and jokes! Please write your own contribution or send a query. Your experience could be valuable for others. IDEA: How many of you get or see BHF’s free Heart Health magazine? A lot of us are sent the magazine, but the list has not been updated for a while. How many would like to get it regularly? Do any of you know a surgery or other venue that could do with regular updated reading material? Terry is preparing a sticker for the cover giving our group’s details, so if you think you can donate your copy when you have read it, you can get a supply of stickers before you hand it over.
Spread the word! Prevention is better than rehabilitation.
Phil
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Our speaker for the March meeting was our own Group’s Hon. President, Dr.P.D. Higham, and Cardiologist at The Wansbeck.
Dr. Higham visits at least once a year and gives very interesting talks, which in all honesty need to be listened to in person to get the most benefit from. You need to be there. My efforts to report on the contents of these talks do not do them justice. He has over the years, spoken about most of the “bread and butter” aspects of his work, and the things that affect most of us.
Just to ring the changes, he chose as his subject for the evening some of the more unusual medical problems of the heart; events that he may deal with on a monthly, yearly or even once in a working life time basis.I hope I got the spellings right.
Post Infarctal VSD. (Hole in the heart)
These are one of the severe complications that can happen, rarely I might add, usually happening within the two weeks following a heart attack. The wall between two of the hearts chambers perforates allowing blood to seep across causing circulation confusion.
Arterial Myxoma (Cardiac Tumours)
These tumours are rare, usually form in the left ventricle, and can be quiet large. Dr. Higham has seen them up to 13 centimetres, (that is 5’’ in old money; the size of a conference pear). Fortunately they are benign, and easy to operate on, but something that size in your heart must obviously impede its workings.
Aortic Dissection (Rupture)
Just as with any other part of the body you can tear or perforate the wall of your aortic artery, which is the main artery taking blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Depending on the location of the tear, is what decides the action Doctors take. This is something that affects coloured men more than whites, and occurs usually in men over 60. (Dr H’s picture of a large aortic stent had to be seen to be believed).
This last one has a name, a very complicated name, but I did not get to write it down. It is a clinical story that happened some 5 years ago and is still ongoing. A young man, very athletic and a keen footballer, was playing football when he stumbled and fell to the ground. Initially his team mates could not revive him. Luckily, very rapid first aid was at hand, and he breathed again and was conveyed to hospital by ambulance. A heart attack was suspected. Dr. Higham became involved, and over the intervening years, all manner of tests have been performed, and the young man’s results have all come back negative suggesting that a heart attack may not have taken place. The suggestion now, although it awaits final ratification, is that at the time of the fall he struck his chest with such a precise blow, when his heart was at just the wrong stage of beating that the fall caused his heart to stop. Just a split second either way or this may not have happened. No after effects apparently, although the young man does not play professional football.
Thank you Dr. Higham for your time, and another interesting talk.
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Wally’s Yarn
The Doctors Receptionist
They always ask at the doctor's office why you are there, and you have to
answer in front of others what's wrong and sometimes it is embarrassing.
There's nothing worse than a receptionist who insists you tell her what is
wrong with you in a room full of other patients. Many of us have experienced
this, and I love the way this old guy handled it.
An 86-year-old man walked into a crowded waiting room and approached the
desk. The receptionist said, 'hello, sir. Can you please tell me why you're
here to see the doctor today?'
'There's something wrong with my willie,' he replied.
The receptionist became irritated and said, 'you shouldn't come into a
crowded waiting room and say things like that.'
'Why not? You asked me what was wrong and I told you,' he said.
The receptionist replied, 'now you've caused some embarrassment in this room
full of people. You should have said there is something wrong with your ear
or something and discussed the problem further with the doctor in private.'
The man replied, 'you shouldn't ask people questions in a room full of
strangers, if the answer could embarrass anyone.' The man walked out, waited
several minutes and then re-entered.
The receptionist smiled smugly and asked, 'Yes?'
'There's something wrong with my ear,' he stated
The receptionist nodded approvingly and smiled, knowing he had taken her
advice. 'And what is wrong with your ear, sir?'
'I can't p….. out of it,' he replied.
The waiting room erupted in laughter.
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Recipe of the month
Quick Fish Pie
Ingredients
200g (7oz) Tin of Salmon or Tuna
225ml (8 fluid oz) Skimmed milk
Mashed potatoes
1 Bunch of spring onions thickly slice, or use peas or any other veg you fancy.
2 Tablespoons plain flour
15g Butter or margerine
Salt & Pepper
Method
(1) Put the milk, flour and butter into a small saucepan and whisk well. Stirring contantly with the whisk, bring to the boil until the sauce thickens.
(2) Drain and roughly flake the fish.
(3) Stir in the fish and spring onions into the sauce, then season to taste.
(4) Spoon the mixture into a warm ovenproof dish, and arrange the mash potato on top.
(5) Put under the grill to heat through, and finally brown the top of the potato.
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