BCPA Journal - Issue 184 - British Cardiac Patients Association
BCPA Journal - Issue 184 - British Cardiac Patients Association
BCPA Journal - Issue 184 - British Cardiac Patients Association
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<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>184</strong><br />
June / July 2012<br />
THE<br />
PATIENT<br />
AND CARERS<br />
INDEPENDENT<br />
VOICE<br />
<strong>BCPA</strong><br />
<strong>Journal</strong><br />
How do we ‘stat up’?<br />
A Papworth Hospital patient’s story<br />
Aspirin also helps cancer prevention<br />
Atorvastatin cheaper so more to be prescribed<br />
Memoirs of a Voluntary Worker 1981-1996 – Fred Roach<br />
A package of insurance products as individual as you<br />
Recipes: Tomatoes and rice gratin, Soft fruit pudding<br />
Could readmissions within 30 days be reduced<br />
<strong>Patients</strong> should have a voice too!<br />
‘The Truth About Transplants’<br />
Professor John Wallwork CBE FRCS<br />
(on right) takes over <strong>BCPA</strong> presidency<br />
from Sir Terence English KBE FRCS<br />
Rebalancing the planet<br />
Talks offered<br />
www.<strong>BCPA</strong>.co.uk<br />
admin@<strong>BCPA</strong>.co.uk<br />
The official magazine of the<br />
<strong>British</strong> CardiaC <strong>Patients</strong> assoCiation
Contents<br />
3 From Me to You – Keith Jackson<br />
3 Ricky’s Quickies: Atorvastatin cheaper so more to be<br />
prescribed; ‘The Truth About Transplants’ book; Could<br />
readmissions within 30 days be reduced; Rebalancing<br />
the planet – Richard Maddison<br />
4–5 News from around the Areas<br />
6 Aspirin also helps cancer prevention – A summary by<br />
Richard Maddison of research by Peter Rothwell<br />
7 A package of insurance products as individual as you<br />
– Unique Insurance staff<br />
8–9 A Papworth Hospital patient’s story – William Gordon<br />
9 Recipes: Tomatoes and rice gratin, Soft fruit pudding<br />
– Janet Jackson<br />
10 Talks offered – Alan Thomas<br />
11 Dates for your diary<br />
11 <strong>Patients</strong> should have a voice too! – Nadine van Dongen,<br />
Managing Director, PIP Health<br />
13 How do we ‘stat up’? – Corey Beecher<br />
13–14 A New Beginning: Memoirs of a Voluntary Worker<br />
1981-1996 – Fred Roach – Keith Jackson<br />
14 Crossword<br />
14 Co-ordinators, Contacts and Affiliated Groups<br />
15 How to join – Membership form<br />
16 Servier. Unique Insurance<br />
Donations<br />
We acknowledge here donations over £50 unless the donor<br />
wishes otherwise. The <strong>BCPA</strong> really needs the donations.<br />
Mrs Joan Edmundson 90th birthday £325 to Papworth Hospital<br />
Fund. Mrs Edmundson received a new valve 24 years ago.<br />
£310 in memory of Margaret London, an active member of<br />
Peterborough Area Group.<br />
Mrs Helen Whitehand has sent a further £55.00, added to her<br />
£315 80th birthday money acknowledged in the April <strong>Journal</strong>.<br />
Please send donations as cheques payable to <strong>BCPA</strong>, to <strong>BCPA</strong><br />
Head Office, 15 Abbey Road, Bingham, Notts NG13 8EE<br />
<strong>Journal</strong> contributions and dates<br />
We invite members to send in items for publication – not only<br />
heart-related information and articles, but also lighthearted<br />
items and stories.<br />
Please phone me, Dr Richard Maddison 01234 212293, to<br />
agree the easiest way to send it in – don’t send it to Head Office.<br />
Normal closing dates are 20th of an even month –20 June, 20<br />
August ... Please phone me before that date if you may be late.<br />
I’m really appealing for articles from members.<br />
NATIONAL HELPLINE<br />
01223 846845<br />
Do you have concerns or worries that you would like to talk to<br />
someone about? Our telephone helpline, as part of our national<br />
support services, normally operates 9.00am to 7.00pm Monday<br />
to Saturday. If you get no reply please leave your name and<br />
number, and we shall attend to your call as soon as possible.<br />
If you have a question or issue that is best in writing,<br />
please first phone or email Richard Maddison as p14, who will<br />
try to find an appropriate person to answer it.<br />
All the people who answer our helplines have been patients<br />
or carers so are likely to understand your concerns because<br />
they have been there.<br />
2<br />
Annual General Meeting Weekend<br />
11-13 May 2012<br />
The photograph on the front cover and those below show <strong>BCPA</strong><br />
members enjoying a weekend together at the Menzies Hotel,<br />
Cambridge, during the Annual General Meeting and at the Gala<br />
Dinner held to celebrate 30 years of the <strong>Association</strong>.<br />
Having been President since the<br />
formation of the <strong>Association</strong>, Sir<br />
Terence English KBE FRCS handed<br />
the presidency over to Professor John<br />
Wallwork CBE FRCS to acclaim at the<br />
Annual General Meeting. Our thanks<br />
go to Sir Terence for the support he has<br />
given over this long period and we look<br />
forward to working with Professor Wallwork as the <strong>Association</strong><br />
goes forward.<br />
Prior to the AGM Professor Wallwork gave a most interesting<br />
illustrated talk ‘<strong>Cardiac</strong> Surgery Then and Now’ showing the<br />
development and advancement in treatments over the years.<br />
At the AGM Dr Richard Maddison was re-elected as Vice<br />
Chairman and Dennis Atkinson as an <strong>Association</strong> Trustee.
Annual membership renewals and<br />
subscriptions<br />
We value all of our members and thank<br />
those of you who have sent in your annual<br />
subscriptions. Subscriptions became due on<br />
the 31st March.<br />
This is the final <strong>Journal</strong> reminder for<br />
overdue annual membership renewals. If<br />
your mailing label shows the number 12<br />
then your membership lapsed on the 31st<br />
March 2012.<br />
Encouraging you to continue as a<br />
member of the <strong>Association</strong>, to continue to<br />
receive your six issues of the <strong>Journal</strong> each<br />
year and, if you are able, take part in area<br />
group activities, we trust that you will<br />
renew. Please complete either the renewal<br />
form enclosed with your April/May <strong>Journal</strong><br />
or use the form printed in the back of this<br />
issue. Having completed the form please<br />
send it with your subscription to Head<br />
Office as soon as possible.<br />
It is pleasing to note the number of<br />
members who have opted to change to Life<br />
Membership thus saving themselves the<br />
annual chore of renewals. If you wish to<br />
From Me to You<br />
Keith Jackson, National Chairman<br />
Ricky’s Quickies - Richard Maddison<br />
Colin Readman<br />
With sadness I record Colin’s passing on Saturday<br />
28th April. He was Chairman of the Bedford Area<br />
Group for many years. The funeral will have been<br />
on 16th May at St Andrew’s Church, Bedford.<br />
We send condolences to Tessa and their three<br />
children Joanne, Colin and Catherine.<br />
Colin Readman at Papworth Fete 11 June 1994<br />
Atorvastatin cheaper so more to be prescribed<br />
As I expected 1 , the price of atorvastatin has dropped – by 93% after<br />
its patent held by Pfizer ended on 7th May, and a legal block on<br />
prescribing generic versions was lifted. 2 The massive drop in cost<br />
will save millions for the NHS and is likely to herald a sea-change<br />
in GP management of high cholesterol, with new patients needing a<br />
statin given atorvastatin rather than simvastatin. 2<br />
Sources. 1 RM Quickies <strong>BCPA</strong> <strong>Journal</strong> 182 February 2012<br />
2 Pulse Today 8/5/2012.<br />
‘The Truth About Transplants’ book<br />
Paulette Pratt, an award-winning medical author, has written this<br />
introduction to transplantation, which may be useful to patients and<br />
their families, and to relevant medical and nursing staff.<br />
The book charts the history of transplantation, tackles the issues<br />
of organ supply and donation, and distinguishes patients suffering<br />
from brainstem death from those in irreversible cardiac arrest.<br />
It traces recipient experience from pre-op investigations to the<br />
operating theatre and the months and years afterwards.<br />
Paulette Pratt The Truth About Transplants. Janus Publishing.<br />
162pp, A5 size, ISBN 978-1-85756-743-9, £14.95.<br />
Could readmissions within 30 days be reduced<br />
US policymakers thought of trying to reduce hospital readmission<br />
rates, as readmissions are common and costly. 1 To reduce costs and<br />
make this change then please complete the<br />
form and send in the appropriate details.<br />
Do please assure yourself that you<br />
have renewed your membership. As an<br />
<strong>Association</strong> we value having you as a<br />
member and do not wish to lose contact.<br />
Awareness and Area Group events<br />
As we move into the summer season, Area<br />
Groups up and down the country have a<br />
number of activities planned including<br />
attendance at village fêtes, disability<br />
awareness days, and other events. May I<br />
urge you all, members and readers of the<br />
<strong>Journal</strong> alike, that if you are near to an event<br />
please go along and have a look. Perhaps<br />
take the opportunity to make yourself<br />
known and join in with the occasion. You<br />
will be assured of a warm welcome.<br />
<strong>BCPA</strong> website www.<strong>BCPA</strong>.co.uk<br />
Not all members have access to the web, but<br />
an increasing number now do. If you are one<br />
of that growing number and have not yet<br />
looked at what is on our website may I urge<br />
you to do so.<br />
Amongst a growing range of information<br />
you will find the following.<br />
• A membership application/renewal form<br />
should you wish to use it<br />
• Past copies of the <strong>Journal</strong><br />
• Newsletters from some of the <strong>BCPA</strong> Area<br />
Groups<br />
• Travel and other insurances<br />
• General health information<br />
• Factsheets on a range of heart issues<br />
• An extensive Glossary.<br />
Our website continues to attract attention.<br />
Why not become one of that growing number<br />
of people using this source?<br />
Holiday and other insurances<br />
Thank you to those who have taken advantage<br />
of insurance through Unique in past months.<br />
If you have not yet given them an<br />
opportunity to provide a quote maybe you<br />
could do so when seeking your holiday or<br />
other insurance cover. They cover the whole<br />
range of insurance needs.<br />
To contact Unique for a no obligation<br />
quote please call 01603 828246 or visit the<br />
<strong>BCPA</strong> website at www.bcpa.co.uk and look<br />
at the insurance section. See page 7.<br />
improve care, Congress directed that hospitals with<br />
poorer than expected 30-day readmission rates should<br />
be penalised. One’s initial reaction might be that this is<br />
a good idea. But NEJM authors say this misguided for three reasons 1 .<br />
The situation is not simple.<br />
1 Only 12–20% of US readmissions within 30 days of discharge<br />
are preventable. 1 Many readmissions depend on factors that are<br />
outside the hospital’s control – patient characteristics, mental<br />
illness, poor social support, home situation, and poverty. 1 Only<br />
those in the first three days are more likely to be caused by the<br />
hospital. So 30 days is the wrong criterion.<br />
2 Reducing injuries, infections and mistakes in hospitals, and<br />
improving coordination with out-of-hospital services should<br />
reduce readmissions. 1 Improved outpatient care helps to keep the<br />
healthiest patients from being hospitalized in the first place; so<br />
readmission rates rise – being the less healthy.<br />
3 Aiming to reduce readmissions may conflict with patient safety 1<br />
and survival. Hospitals with lower mortality rates among patients<br />
with heart failure have higher readmission rates. After keeping<br />
more of their patients alive such patients are more likely to be<br />
readmitted. High readmission rates can be from low mortality<br />
rates and/or good access to hospital care.<br />
Source 1 N Engl J Med 2012; 366:1366–1369, 12 April 2012.<br />
Rebalancing the planet<br />
<strong>Issue</strong>s of world population, resources, consumption patterns and<br />
health are rarely discussed together in a scientific and systematic way.<br />
Papers for UN Conference on Sustainable Development on June 20–<br />
22 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hardly mention health and consumption.<br />
Developed high-income nations overconsume, and the bottom billion<br />
of the world population need both more calories for minimum dietary<br />
requirements and more resources to avoid poverty and poor health. 2<br />
Source 2 The Lancet Volume 379, <strong>Issue</strong> 9827, Page 1678;<br />
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60700, 5 May 2012.<br />
3
Cambridge<br />
Bert Truelove<br />
01223 844800<br />
4<br />
News from around the Areas<br />
Local news from some of our Groups<br />
Dates for your diary are on page 11, and the list of Co-ordinators and contacts on page 14<br />
Sadly I report that Ken Starling died on<br />
28th April 2012.<br />
Ken Starling was in the Black Watch<br />
during the 39–45 war, and after the war<br />
he gave a lot of service to the Army Cadet<br />
Force.<br />
He had surgery at Papworth in 1995 and<br />
quickly became involved as a volunteer in<br />
the Papworth shop from 1996 until 2010.<br />
He was Secretary of our Cambridge Area<br />
Group for six years, retiring in 2006.<br />
Janet and he were married 58 years with<br />
a family of three sons and a number of<br />
grandchildren. The funeral is arranged for<br />
Friday 18th May at the Salvation Army<br />
Citadel, Cambridge, at 1.30pm.<br />
I’m afraid that we have been very lazy in<br />
not doing much with the Group over the last<br />
two months – perhaps it has been the cold<br />
weather.<br />
At the time of writing it is just a few days<br />
before our April Group meeting, when we<br />
intend to have a quiz evening, which should<br />
be great fun. It also gives a chance for<br />
people to have a nice relaxing talk together<br />
– something I think is very useful if you live<br />
on your own.<br />
Once again we had our Annual General<br />
Meeting late in February, and sadly I have to<br />
report that no younger people came forward<br />
to take office, so back to the old brigade –<br />
and some of us are old.<br />
Papworth trolley being bought<br />
During the last few months we have been<br />
discussing the purchase of a trolley for<br />
Papworth Hospital. The volunteers who<br />
take useful items around to the wards on<br />
behalf of the Papworth shop are finding the<br />
task increasingly more difficult, because<br />
the hospital is built on slopes. They have<br />
a trolley that goes around the hospital with<br />
refreshments for staff, so we have purchased<br />
the same design for the shop volunteers,<br />
with the support of the Norma Jackson Fund<br />
and our own funds. This was delivered in<br />
early May. I know that the volunteers were<br />
looking forward to using this.<br />
The trolley is a black<br />
motorised Flexicar<br />
Snack Trolley, with<br />
a top full-width shelf<br />
with dividers. The 2nd<br />
and 3rd level shelves<br />
are half width with<br />
sloping shelves and<br />
dividers.<br />
It has a removable<br />
A similar trolley<br />
without sweet rail or<br />
motor<br />
lockable cash drawer and a sweet rail.<br />
It cost £3594 + VAT. Papworth Hospital<br />
kindly agreed to pay the VAT. The £3594<br />
comes half from Cambridge and half from<br />
the Norma Jackson Fund.<br />
National AGM weekend<br />
By the time you read this the National Annual<br />
General Meeting will have been held in<br />
Cambridge. I feel sure that this will be most<br />
successful. It will be nice to remember Fred<br />
Roach, and not forgetting Norma Jackson<br />
who helped him in his visits. They both gave<br />
so much encouragement when we needed it<br />
in those early days of open-heart surgery.<br />
We hope June Roach will be present for the<br />
Saturday afternoon and evening.<br />
In the evening we have Jennifer<br />
Thompson and friends to entertain everyone<br />
after dinner, something that promises to be<br />
most enjoyable.<br />
Other activities<br />
We have made arrangements for our summer<br />
trip to Southwold and the theatre, of course<br />
stopping for lunch at the Fox in Darsham. It<br />
is always nice to catch up with Brian, Nell<br />
and their staff, and enjoy the welcome we<br />
always receive from them.<br />
A daughter of a Cambridge Group<br />
member is running the Edinburgh Marathon<br />
at the end of May to support the <strong>British</strong><br />
Heart Foundation. Needless to say she<br />
is looking for sponsorship, which can be<br />
forwarded to me. Those of us who have had<br />
surgery owe our good health to the <strong>British</strong><br />
Heart Foundation for research carried out<br />
over many years.<br />
May I wish you all a pleasant summer,<br />
and keep well.<br />
Halton<br />
Stella Bate<br />
01928 566484<br />
From Margaret Hughes<br />
The Halton Group’s AGM was held on 2nd<br />
March. All the committee were returned<br />
with the addition of one new member,<br />
Betty Rogers. We welcome Betty on to the<br />
committee.<br />
After five years Margaret Rimmer has<br />
decided to stand down as Secretary. We<br />
thank her sincerely for all her work and<br />
dedication, and hope she will enjoy a wellearned<br />
rest. She does, however, remain a<br />
committee member.<br />
For our Easter meeting on Thursday 5th<br />
April we had a games day and held a raffle<br />
with lots of prizes. We also had a sale of<br />
jewellery made by Mrs Ann Buckly, one of<br />
our members.<br />
We are planning a trip to the Imperial<br />
Hotel, Llandudno, on 19th June. We will<br />
have lunch at the hotel and spend the<br />
afternoon having a look round the town. If<br />
the weather is unkind, we are able to stay at<br />
the hotel and use their facilities. The coach<br />
will probably be full by the time you receive<br />
this – contact Beryl McCann at a Thursday<br />
meeting.<br />
Joan selecting some<br />
jewellery<br />
Playing indoor curling<br />
Pam choosing her prize Ann choosing her prize<br />
Stella with her<br />
raffle prize<br />
Lincoln<br />
Bill May<br />
01522 885756<br />
At our AGM in February<br />
Mr Ridley talked about new treatments<br />
which were being done and about moving<br />
to the new buildings. He also thanked the<br />
Hospital Team and our <strong>BCPA</strong> Group for<br />
their support over the last year.<br />
Wednesday 20th June is our annual<br />
midsummer trip to see the Lincolnshire<br />
Wolds with all their beauty and wealth of<br />
history, and with a bonus of a coastal stop<br />
for lunch. Depart Lincoln 10.00 am at North<br />
Hykeham Methodist Chapel, returning 6.30<br />
pm. Cost £9.00 per person. To book contact<br />
Julie Treanor (01522) 685362.<br />
On Monday 13th August we have a<br />
coach to Maritime Leisure Cruises, Boston,<br />
departing 10.30am from the Methodist<br />
Church North Hykeham to catch the ebb tide<br />
at 1.30pm. Lunch will be served in the boat<br />
saloon – ham, beef, new potatoes, various<br />
salads and choice of sweets, with a licensed<br />
bar during the five-hour cruise on the Wash.<br />
Which direction we take may depend on the<br />
sea conditions – if dangerous then we will<br />
go inland up the river Witham to Tattersall<br />
Bridge. Coach, boat and lunch included in<br />
the provisional £18.00 per person. To book<br />
contact Julie Treanor (01522) 685362.
Peterborough<br />
Gordon Wakefield<br />
01733 577629<br />
It is with sadness we have<br />
to report the death of one of<br />
our long-standing and regular<br />
attending members. Margaret<br />
London passed away in<br />
February quite unexpectedly, only a few<br />
days after our February meeting. We will<br />
miss her.<br />
A shared collection at her funeral<br />
presented the Papworth Fund with a sum<br />
of £268; with a similar amount given to<br />
the Sue Ryder Care home, Thorpe Hall.<br />
Margaret would have been very pleased<br />
with that.<br />
Our hosts at the Cherry Tree Public house,<br />
Jess and Ann Caprio, decided to retire on<br />
April the 1st, having run the pub for 16<br />
years. We now look forward to meeting our<br />
new hosts. Don’t forget, everyone will be<br />
made welcome at our monthly get-together<br />
on the third Thursday in the month.<br />
South East London & Kent<br />
Chris Howell<br />
01689 821413<br />
Since the last report we have<br />
had another excellent meal on<br />
13th March at the Toby Carvery, Bromley<br />
Common.<br />
The next Carvery meal will be on<br />
Tuesday 12th June at 7.30 for 8.00. If you do<br />
not usually attend and would like to, please<br />
contact me.<br />
The Beetle Drive due to be held on 13th<br />
April was postponed until a later date.<br />
The Hot Cross Buns evening continued,<br />
and members were ‘bored’ by me and Ray<br />
showing them our holiday photos of South<br />
Africa.<br />
Our next meeting at the Victory Social<br />
Club will be the Quiz night on the 12th<br />
October.<br />
Staffordshire<br />
Eddie Coxon<br />
01782 416143<br />
Hi Folks. I hope you are<br />
all well. On Tuesday 28th<br />
February we had our AGM. Our Chairman<br />
Mr P D Ridley gave us an update on the new<br />
medical teaching they were doing, what<br />
was happening at our new hospital, and that<br />
the cardiac department would be moving<br />
during the end of March 2012 to the UHNS,<br />
which is the old city general site, The same<br />
committee members as last year were re-<br />
West Suffolk & South<br />
West Norfolk<br />
Brian Hartington,<br />
01284 762783<br />
Wirral<br />
George Bird,<br />
0151 653 4530<br />
Crossword answers<br />
Across 1, 4 Living Things 7 Era Anagram EAR 9 Biologist 11 Toes<br />
12 Ever Two meanings 14 Sac Two meanings 15, 17 Chestnut Tree<br />
Song: Under the spreading chestnut tree 19 Bird 21 Skippers Two<br />
meanings 24 ICT 25 Emma From itEM MAde 28 Pile From reversE<br />
LIPid 30 Adaptable Two meanings 33 Its Two meanings 34 Salmon<br />
MONSAL anagram 35 Horses Down 1 Lactic Two meanings 2 Irises<br />
Two meanings 3 Gel Two meanings 4 Tag Two meanings 5 Insect<br />
elected.<br />
After the meeting Eddy Coxon announced<br />
that George Austin and Anna Collier, two<br />
of our members, had become engaged<br />
today. George met Anna during his hospital<br />
visiting, and they plan to wed on the 24th<br />
November 2012.<br />
Our next meeting was March 27th<br />
at which Bill Harrison gave us a very<br />
interesting talk on Ancestry and how to start<br />
our own family tree. We had our usual raffle<br />
– a good evening was had by all.<br />
There is a trip to Bury Market on<br />
Wednesday 6th June – please contact<br />
Malcolm or Mary Lyth on 01782 398676.<br />
Unfortunately we had to postpone the AGM,<br />
and due to my illness I have not yet arranged<br />
a new date. I am going into hospital in early<br />
May, and we hope to arrange a new AGM<br />
date soon.<br />
We intend to arrange a Christmas dinner<br />
for the 3rd of December 2012 – time and<br />
menu to be arranged.<br />
From Barrie Harding<br />
0151 608 6212<br />
Hello everybody from your friends in the<br />
Wirral Group.<br />
As I write these notes towards the end<br />
of April we are experiencing some severe<br />
weather conditions and it is not at all like<br />
Spring. It is bitterly cold and gale force<br />
winds are driving incessant rain to make<br />
things very unpleasant out there.<br />
Getting on to Branch matters, in March<br />
we had a visit by Maureen Ellison from the<br />
Appeals Office at the Clatterbridge Centre<br />
For Oncology. Maureen spoke to us about<br />
the work of the unit and we thank her for<br />
coming to visit us. Unfortunately only<br />
six members were present on the night,<br />
which was disappointing, although we do<br />
appreciate that several regular members<br />
were unable to attend due to health problems.<br />
We had already given some thought to<br />
holding a meal at our April meeting but due<br />
to a lack of interest this did not materialise.<br />
We rearranged a quiz and beetle drive but as<br />
only seven members arrived on the night we<br />
had to abandon this and we therefore held<br />
a meeting between those present to discuss<br />
the problems of poor and falling attendances<br />
particularly when we have a speaker on the<br />
night.<br />
A suggestion was made that we hold our<br />
meetings during the daytime but this was<br />
rejected as some members would be unable<br />
to attend. Another suggestion was whether<br />
we would consider moving to bi-monthly<br />
meetings but, again, this was rejected as<br />
we felt that it would only serve to make<br />
the position worse. On top of this George<br />
Bird has received a letter from Heswall<br />
Hall Community Trust where we hold our<br />
meetings to advise an increase in the cost<br />
of room hire to £28.50 plus a surcharge of<br />
£25 if we need to use their staff on the night,<br />
making a total of £53.50 if we require that<br />
facility. We unanimously agreed against<br />
the surcharge and have accepted a swipe<br />
card to let ourselves in and out and with no<br />
other service. However, bearing in mind the<br />
current small attendances we did look at the<br />
possibility of holding our monthly meetings<br />
in a pub with a meal; or as some of those<br />
present have access to church hall facilities<br />
that may be a viable option at some point<br />
if we are unable to increase attendances to<br />
reasonable levels.<br />
Although there were only a few of us<br />
present we enjoyed a lively discussion (and<br />
a cuppa!) and were unanimous that the<br />
Wirral Branch will survive no matter what<br />
steps we have to take to secure this.<br />
Please do come along and support us.<br />
You know where we are and when we meet.<br />
Details of our events until early 2013 are<br />
shown in the Dates For Your Diary in this<br />
<strong>Journal</strong> and we advertise free of charge in<br />
the Wirral Champion every month – thank<br />
you to John Birtwistle and his staff at the<br />
Wirral Champion.<br />
On other matters, Dr Pip Jones, one of<br />
our staunch supporters, is no longer able to<br />
attend our meetings due to health problems<br />
but he would welcome a visit from any of<br />
our members who know him. If you would<br />
like to visit Pip please contact me.<br />
Once again Steve Legge, our member,<br />
is taking part in the Wirral Coastal Walk<br />
on 27th May and would appreciate your<br />
sponsorship. Thank you Steve.<br />
On behalf of the Wirral Group I will say<br />
Cheerio for now; and look after yourselves.<br />
With sadness we have to inform you that<br />
our member Ella McMullen has died.<br />
Ella had been ill for some time and she<br />
passed away peacefully on 3rd May 2012.<br />
We send our sympathy, prayers and<br />
thoughts to Ella’s family and her many<br />
friends at this sad time.<br />
IN SECTions 6 Source Two meanings 8 Rod Two meanings 9 Be<br />
oBEse 10 TV in whaT Viewers 13 Angst Two meanings 14 Strip Two<br />
meanings 16 Ear Two meanings 27 OTT 18 Roe Two meanings 19<br />
Breeds Two meanings 20 Diadem Two meanings 22 Poplar anagram<br />
POLAR PARTS without the letters STAR 23 Shells 26 Ma part of<br />
EmMA 29 Ie bIEnnial 31 Pin luPINs 32 Ash<br />
5
6<br />
Aspirin also helps cancer prevention<br />
A summary by Richard Maddison of research by Peter Rothwell*<br />
Readers may remember the article on Peter<br />
Rothwell’s work on how Intermittent high<br />
blood pressure predicts troubles, in the<br />
<strong>BCPA</strong> <strong>Journal</strong> for June/July 2010. 4<br />
His recent research findings 1,2,3 hit the<br />
headlines around 21st March 2012. Peter<br />
gave a summary on Today on BBC Radio<br />
4. Essentially low-dose aspirin given daily<br />
to heart patients for five years or more<br />
also helps ward off various cancers –<br />
especially of colon.<br />
The Daily Mail quoted Peter as follows. 5<br />
‘As a father of three young daughters all<br />
aged under ten, I try to look after my health,<br />
and taking a daily aspirin is an important<br />
part of this. I take a low-dose pill, which<br />
is equivalent to a so-called junior aspirin<br />
(75mg a day rather than the usual painkilling<br />
dose of 300mg). I’ve been doing this<br />
for a few years. I know about the possible<br />
side effects, but the evidence suggests the<br />
advantages of taking aspirin are greater than<br />
the disadvantages in my case.<br />
‘I don’t have a history of indigestion,<br />
which would otherwise make me more<br />
susceptible to gastrointestinal bleeding.<br />
The risk of a bleed reduces if someone has<br />
been taking aspirin for three years anyway,<br />
probably because those at risk have already<br />
stopped taking the pill by then.<br />
‘Cancer becomes more common in<br />
people aged 50 and over, and so it might<br />
make sense to start taking aspirin as a<br />
preventive treatment in the late 40s, and to<br />
stop at around 65, when the risk of bleeding<br />
increases.<br />
‘I don’t want to suggest that people rush<br />
out and buy aspirin, but I think it’s at least<br />
worth thinking about for healthy, middleaged<br />
people like me.’<br />
Heart disease benefits known<br />
The benefits of low-dose aspirin to patients<br />
who have had heart disease were already<br />
well established.<br />
A research trial published in 1974 found<br />
that patients who had already had a heart<br />
attack had lower risks of dying or further<br />
heart troubles if they took low-dose aspirin 6 ;<br />
and many subsequent published results have<br />
confirmed that 7 .<br />
Findings are for heart patients, not<br />
general population<br />
The findings below 1,2,3 are not based on<br />
the general population. They come from<br />
analysis of trials of aspirin on patients who<br />
already had some history of heart disease<br />
or other vascular disease. [Vascular means<br />
involving blood flow in arteries and veins].<br />
Thus they don’t suggest that aspirin would<br />
be of benefit to the general population as a<br />
primary prevention to reduce the future risk<br />
of cancers among those that are healthy.<br />
[Primary prevention means trying to prevent<br />
a disease before it happens.]<br />
Cancer risks reduced<br />
Daily aspirin was already known to reduce<br />
the long-term risk of death due to cancer as<br />
well as to heart and circulation. However,<br />
the short-term cancer effects are less certain,<br />
especially in women. The effects of aspirin<br />
on cancer incidence are largely unknown.<br />
The time-course of cancer risks and benefits<br />
in primary prevention were unclear. 1<br />
Peter Rothwell and his team studied<br />
cancer deaths in all trials of daily aspirin<br />
versus control; and the time-course of effects<br />
of low-dose aspirin on cancer incidence<br />
and other outcomes in trials in primary<br />
prevention. 1 [Here control means that the<br />
patients were randomly allocated either to a<br />
group who received aspirin or to a control<br />
group who received a placebo dummy pill.]<br />
The team studied individual patient data<br />
from randomised trials of daily aspirin<br />
versus no aspirin in prevention of vascular<br />
events. Death due to cancer, all non-vascular<br />
death, vascular death, and all deaths were<br />
assessed in all eligible trials. In trials of<br />
low-dose aspirin in primary prevention, the<br />
team also established the time course of<br />
effects on incident cancer, major vascular<br />
events, and major extra-cranial bleeds,<br />
with stratification by age, sex, and smoking<br />
status. 1<br />
The team’s work brought together various<br />
previous randomised controlled trials and<br />
found patterns. In 34 such trials involving<br />
data on 69,224 participants, allocation to<br />
aspirin reduced cancer deaths over five<br />
years or more. In 51 such trials there were<br />
also fewer non-vascular deaths overall. 1<br />
The reduced risk of major vascular events<br />
and of cancer by taking aspirin was initially<br />
offset by an increased risk of major bleeding,<br />
but effects on both outcomes diminished<br />
with time, leaving only the reduced risk of<br />
cancer from 3 years onwards. Patient deaths<br />
from major extra-cranial bleeds were also<br />
lower on aspirin than on control. 1<br />
Alongside the previously reported<br />
reduction by aspirin of the long-term risk<br />
of cancer death, the short-term reductions<br />
in cancer incidence and deaths and the<br />
decrease in risk of major extra-cranial bleeds<br />
with extended use, and their low patient<br />
deaths, add to the case for daily aspirin in<br />
prevention of cancer. 1<br />
Malignant tumours<br />
Daily aspirin as given to heart patients also<br />
reduces the long-term incidence of some<br />
adenocarcinomas. 2 [Adenocarcinoma is<br />
a malignant tumour in glandular tissue –<br />
breast cancers are often adenocarcinomas].<br />
But the effects on mortality due to some<br />
cancers appear after only a few years,<br />
suggesting that it might also reduce growth<br />
and/or metastasis. 2 [Metastasis means the<br />
spread of a cancer from the original tumour<br />
to other parts of the body by tiny clumps of<br />
cells carried by the blood or lymph.]<br />
The team established the frequency of<br />
distant metastasis in patients who developed<br />
cancer during trials of daily aspirin versus<br />
control. 2<br />
Allocation to aspirin reduced the risk<br />
of distant metastasis on all cancers taken<br />
together; adenocarcinoma; and other solid<br />
cancers – due mainly to a reduction in<br />
the proportion of adenocarcinomas that<br />
had metastatic versus local disease. 2 The<br />
effects were independent of age and sex, but<br />
absolute benefit was greatest in smokers. 2<br />
That aspirin prevents distant metastasis<br />
could account for the early reduction in<br />
cancer deaths in trials of daily aspirin<br />
versus control. This finding suggests that<br />
aspirin might help in treatment of some<br />
cancers and provides proof of principle for<br />
pharmacological intervention specifically to<br />
prevent distant metastasis. 2<br />
Colon and rectum cancer from 20year<br />
studies<br />
By 2007 researchers knew that high-dose<br />
aspirin (≥500mg daily) reduces long-term<br />
incidence of colon or rectum cancer, but<br />
adverse effects might limit its potential for<br />
long-term prevention. In 2010 the long-term<br />
effectiveness of lower doses (75–300mg<br />
daily) was still unknown. The team assessed<br />
the effects of aspirin on incidence and<br />
mortality due to colon and rectum cancer in<br />
relation to dose, duration of treatment, and<br />
site of tumour. 8<br />
The team followed up four randomised<br />
trials of aspirin versus control in primary<br />
and secondary prevention of vascular events<br />
and one trial of different doses of aspirin. 8<br />
[Secondary prevention is to try to stop a<br />
disease getting worse, or at least slow down<br />
its progress.]<br />
By analysis of pooled individual patient<br />
data, the team established the effect of<br />
aspirin on risk of colon and rectum cancer<br />
over 20 years (mean 18.3) during and after<br />
the trials. They found that those taking<br />
aspirin averaged overall had reduced 20year<br />
risk of colon cancer, but not of rectal<br />
cancer. 8 Also 30mg aspirin daily didn’t help<br />
prevent colon or rectum cancer.<br />
Benefits increased with longer treatment.<br />
Aspirin taken daily for at least 5 years at
doses of at least 75mg reduced long-term<br />
incidence and mortality due to colon cancer<br />
and also of rectum cancer. 8 Doses greater<br />
than 75mg daily were no extra benefit<br />
here. [Here daily means the team excluded<br />
various trials where patients took aspirin<br />
on alternate days, which found that such<br />
patients did not have reduced risk of colon<br />
or rectum cancer, overall cancer or related<br />
mortality. 9 ] Benefit was greatest for cancers<br />
of the proximal colon [the right side that<br />
joins to the small intestine], which are not<br />
otherwise prevented effectively by screening<br />
with sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. 8 [The<br />
sigmoid is the S-shaped part of the colon<br />
near where it joins the rectum; and oscopy<br />
means viewing with a scope inserted.]<br />
Recommend aspirin for cancer<br />
prevention?<br />
The above gives added weight to hoping that<br />
75mg daily aspirin might reduce various<br />
cancers – particularly of colon and rectum. 3<br />
It seems to need at least 5 years of taking<br />
that aspirin to have the desired extra effects<br />
of reducing risks of invasive cancer or death.<br />
Aspirin might have an effect on the growth<br />
and spread of established tumours as well<br />
as on their initiation. Hence the value of<br />
the analysis of the 20-year studies. Among<br />
patients who presented with localised<br />
cancer, those assigned aspirin had a lower<br />
risk of developing metastases subsequently,<br />
particularly if they continued the aspirin<br />
after the cancer diagnosis. 3<br />
Caveats and conclusions<br />
The team’s analyses were of previous<br />
researches on patients already on low-dose<br />
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aspirin in primary prevention. They excluded<br />
researches that were of patients in alternateday<br />
aspirin, ie not daily as explained<br />
above. The team chose to do so because of<br />
possible differences in the biological effects<br />
of alternate-day rather than daily aspirin.<br />
Whether such differences, while plausible,<br />
actually happen is far from conclusively<br />
established. 3 The original researches were<br />
designed to study cardiovascular outcomes,<br />
so in them information was not obtained<br />
about cancer screening or surveillance.<br />
Some analyses were limited by the quality<br />
of the data.<br />
These caveats notwithstanding, the team’s<br />
research shows quite convincingly that<br />
aspirin seems to reduce cancer incidence<br />
and death across different subgroups<br />
and cancer sites, with an apparent delayed<br />
effect. 3<br />
Additionally, aspirin’s known benefits<br />
in vascular disease and known toxic effects<br />
in causing major bleeding emerged in the<br />
short term, but diminished over time. Thus,<br />
for most individuals, the analysis seems<br />
to favour aspirin’s long-term anticancer<br />
benefit. 3<br />
* Prof Peter M Rothwell FMedSci, Stroke<br />
Prevention Research Unit, Nuffield<br />
Department of Clinical Neuroscience,<br />
University of Oxford, John Radcliffe<br />
Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU<br />
Sources 1 Peter M Rothwell et al. Shortterm<br />
effects of daily aspirin on cancer<br />
incidence, mortality, and non-vascular<br />
death: analysis of the time course of risks<br />
and benefits in 51 randomised controlled<br />
trials. The Lancet 2012 Published Online<br />
Unique Insurance Staff<br />
March 21, 2012 DOI:10.1016/S0140-<br />
6736(11)61720-0 ; and its references<br />
2 Peter M Rothwell et al. Effect of daily<br />
aspirin on risk of cancer metastasis:<br />
a study of incident cancers during<br />
randomised controlled trials. The Lancet<br />
Online March 21, 2012 doi:10.1016/S0140-<br />
6736(12)60209-8; & The Lancet, 379,<br />
9826, 1591–1601, 28 April 2012; and its<br />
references<br />
3 Andrew T Chan et al. Are we ready to<br />
recommend aspirin for cancer prevention?<br />
The Lancet Comment Published Online<br />
March 21, 2012 doi:10.1016/S0140-<br />
6736(11)61654-1; and its references<br />
4 Richard Maddison. Intermittent high<br />
blood pressure predicts troubles. A<br />
summary by RM of research done by<br />
Peter Rothwell. <strong>BCPA</strong> Jnl June/July 2010.<br />
J172p8-9<br />
5 Daily Mail 27/3/2012<br />
6 Elwood PC et al. A randomised<br />
controlled trial of acetyl salicylic acid in<br />
the secondary prevention of mortality from<br />
myocardial infarction. BMJ 1974;282: 436-<br />
40.<br />
7 Peter Elwood. The first randomized trial<br />
of aspirin for heart attack and the advent<br />
of systematic overviews of trials. J R Soc<br />
Med. 2006 November; 99(11) 586–588;<br />
and its references.<br />
8 Peter M Rothwell et al. Long-term effect<br />
of aspirin on colorectal cancer incidence<br />
and mortality: 20-year follow-up of five<br />
randomised trials. The Lancet 376, 9754,<br />
1741– 1750, 22 Oct 2010; & 20 Nov 2010<br />
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61543-7; and<br />
its references<br />
9 See 3 and its refs 12,13<br />
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7
8<br />
A Papworth Hospital patient’s story<br />
I was born on 7th March 1935 in an<br />
Aberdeenshire village. I had a sister Mary<br />
three years older than me who had a problem<br />
at birth requiring an operation on her hips,<br />
and as this was long before the National<br />
Health Service (NHS) all medical attention<br />
had to be paid for. I also have a brother three<br />
years younger than me.<br />
When Mary was five years old a doctor<br />
was found who would try the surgery but<br />
it went wrong and she was paralysed from<br />
the waist down. Hospital conditions in those<br />
days were far from hygienic. <strong>Patients</strong> with<br />
a variety of illnesses could be in the same<br />
ward and the night time toilet was a bucket<br />
on the centre of the ward floor. Pre-NHS all<br />
treatments had to be paid for.<br />
My father was wounded and his lungs<br />
seriously burned by a war gas in the First<br />
World War. He spent some time in hospital<br />
and after recovery became a nurse. He met<br />
and married my mother who was also a<br />
nurse.<br />
As a nurse my mother was allowed<br />
to care for Mary in hospital but in the<br />
unhygienic conditions both contracted a<br />
series of infectious diseases such as scarlet<br />
fever. During one of these infections my<br />
sister suffered a stroke which paralysed<br />
her right side too. They both recovered but<br />
Mary was almost completely paralysed. The<br />
local carpenter made a wheelchair for her.<br />
When she became too much of a handful for<br />
my parents she was admitted to an asylum.<br />
Many years on, following a tragic death<br />
in the asylum and when cruel practices<br />
were revealed, Mary was moved, happily,<br />
to a new purpose-built care home for the<br />
disabled. She died aged 50. During the bad<br />
times I was often cared for by relations or<br />
other nursing staff.<br />
I also had a serious defect at birth but<br />
thankfully survived numerous health<br />
problems and had to work and play harder<br />
than my colleagues while trying to be as<br />
good as them. I joined the Boys Brigade at<br />
12 and rose to the rank of Lieutenant.<br />
Career and health<br />
While still a Brigade boy and in a five-year<br />
engineering apprenticeship I joined 2612<br />
Squadron Royal Air Force Auxiliaries.<br />
I became a Senior Aircraftsman gunner,<br />
driver, and signaller; and after National<br />
Service induction training retained that<br />
rank. I served abroad in No 63 squadron. I<br />
was invited to apply for promotion but was<br />
worried that my underlying health condition<br />
could let my team mates down. On<br />
completing my National Service I applied<br />
for release, and with the help of my father<br />
in law who also worked on the RAF station<br />
this was granted.<br />
William Gordon, <strong>BCPA</strong> member<br />
I was working as an engineering fitter in<br />
an electric meter factory about 1967 when<br />
a mobile X-ray unit came to check all the<br />
staff for tuberculosis. They found that I had<br />
a mis-shaped and enlarged heart with an<br />
irregular beat. Ipswich hospital took me on<br />
board with annual checkups by Dr Barry.<br />
When Dr Barry retired in 1979 Dr Petch<br />
came from Papworth Hospital to take the<br />
clinic in Ipswich and invited me to have<br />
tests done at Papworth. I was very keen to<br />
have them. The tests revealed I did not have<br />
a proper aortic valve. Instead of the three<br />
opening flaps that let blood pump through<br />
but not back when the pump stroke ended I<br />
had a disc of tissue with a hole in it that let<br />
blood pump through but also some flowed<br />
back to the heart.<br />
1 was checked for suitability of available<br />
replacement valves such as pigskin, plastic<br />
or metal. Each type had a time scale – for<br />
example a pigskin valve guarantee was<br />
10 years and a metal valve up to 40 years.<br />
Thankfully a metal valve was deemed<br />
suitable and I had a Bjork Shiley metal<br />
valve implant. This procedure was done by<br />
Mr B B Milstein and his team on the 7th<br />
June 1982 at Papworth Hospital.<br />
When my wife told Mr Milstein he had<br />
magic in his hands, he replied something<br />
like ‘I am only a plumber.’ She replied ‘You<br />
are a real Gentleman Sir.’<br />
Papworth Hospital<br />
I entered Papworth Hospital on Thursday<br />
3rd June 1982 for a Bjork Shiley aortic<br />
valve implant on Monday 7th June and had<br />
a weekend to learn what would be needed<br />
of me.<br />
In the Surgical Unit Top Floor Ward<br />
upstairs in the big house I was encouraged<br />
to help my fellow patients recovering<br />
from their operations – and learning the<br />
procedures certainly helped to make my<br />
operation and recovery easier.<br />
The weather was warm and sunny,<br />
allowing the fire door to remain open. At<br />
times I sat there in the sun reading one of<br />
the ward’s books, First Overland by Tim<br />
Slessor, printed in 1975, about the Oxford<br />
and Cambridge Overland Expedition to<br />
Singapore involving 6 men and two Land<br />
Rovers.<br />
When looking out of the ward window<br />
at the old building opposite I read a plaque<br />
inscribed thus.<br />
‘Sir German Siros Woodhead KBE<br />
1855-1921 Professor of Pathology in the<br />
University of Cambridge and one of the<br />
founders of Papworth Colony. A very gallant<br />
gentleman.’<br />
At 9pm I was examined by Dr Hodder<br />
who let me listen through his stethoscope<br />
to my heart wheezing, and told me my<br />
operation would be on Monday morning – a<br />
metal valve that clicks but is best and lasts<br />
longer. How true and kind Sir! Tomorrow he<br />
will show me the Intensive Care Unit (lCD)<br />
and will answer any questions I care to ask –<br />
X-ray and ECG tomorrow perhaps.<br />
My personal possessions such as my<br />
watch, keys, driving licence and money<br />
were handed in and I received a receipt for<br />
them signed by E H Steele. That sounded<br />
like ‘Steal’ and raised a smile.<br />
I believe my ward fellows were:<br />
• Mr Bill Wood, a Cambridge Solicitor<br />
aged 74 in the next bed to mine (my<br />
bed was behind the door). A lovely man<br />
full of fun and we got on very well. He<br />
gave me his address and phone number<br />
therefore I was very sad when I learned<br />
that he had died on 20th of June while<br />
convalescing in Mundesley.<br />
• Mr Ken Evans from Hants, who was<br />
quite ill.<br />
• Mr Cook who was from near Diss.<br />
• Mr Varney from Great Yarmouth.<br />
Next day, Friday morning, I had an X-ray<br />
and Mr Milstein came to see me.<br />
After some rain it was sunny again. I<br />
walked to the pond, and watched the fish and<br />
the birds flying around there. I spoke with<br />
Mr David Haggar, a heart transplant patient;<br />
and Mr Peter Hart, also a transplant man then<br />
a Norfolk man with a lung problem. [Peter<br />
Hart died in November 2011, 29 years after<br />
his transplant, and thus far is Papworth’s<br />
longest transplant survivor.]<br />
Still Friday, indoors, at tea time the TV<br />
was switched on for the first time but by then<br />
it was stormy and the lightning interrupted<br />
it. The lightning also cut out the electricity<br />
but the emergency power immediately took<br />
over. We switched the lights off.<br />
The lightning interfered with the<br />
monitors, especially Mr Varney’s, and<br />
caused the staff to run around re-setting<br />
them.<br />
The staff were brilliant, not just dealing<br />
with the effect of the lightning but in all their<br />
work. They were Sister Barker, Staff nurse<br />
Othello, Nurse Vanessa (Auntie Nessie),<br />
Auxiliary nurse Reed, the male nurse on<br />
night shift, the physiotherapist, Norman<br />
the domestics chap, and some others whose<br />
names I cannot remember. All were kind<br />
and helpful.<br />
I took some liquorice allsorts to help me<br />
clear my stomach before the operation but<br />
then I had laxatives next morning. I hoped<br />
the drainage system worked well.<br />
Sunday morning was sunny again so I<br />
did some washing and hung it out on the<br />
fire escape. My wife and daughter visited<br />
almost daily, coming from Felixstowe. My
daughter drove the car and they took my<br />
washing including bed sheets and pillow<br />
cases to wash at home, but I like doing<br />
things for myself.<br />
The lads in the ward were starting to get<br />
onto their feet so I became more useful. If<br />
patients lying in bed tried to raise themselves<br />
up by pushing on their elbows this would<br />
pull out the chest stitches requiring treatment<br />
sometimes back in the theatre.<br />
Rope<br />
Someone had an idea to<br />
have a rope for patients to<br />
pull themselves upright<br />
with, as this tends to close<br />
the wound instead of opening it. As there<br />
was only one rope I had the job of taking it<br />
to whoever needed it in the male ward and<br />
to nurses in the female ward. I asked my<br />
wife to bring some ropes that I had at home<br />
and she did. I scrubbed and disinfected them<br />
in the sluice room and there they remained<br />
until after my operation.<br />
Operation<br />
On the Sunday the anaesthetist came to explain<br />
to me all that would happen at the operation,<br />
to help me co-operate during the procedures.<br />
My wife had asked our friend Mr John Porter,<br />
foreman rigger at Felixstowe Docks for more<br />
rope. The Docks Manager kindly let us have<br />
a whole reel of suitable rope and my wife<br />
brought it to Papworth Hospital that day. She<br />
usually brought flowers too to brighten the<br />
ward.<br />
Monday 7th June 1982 was the operation<br />
day. I had noticed earlier that there was a<br />
Surgeon and Doctors list in reception that read<br />
as follows.<br />
‘Mr Christopher Parish, Mr B B Milstein,<br />
Mr T A English, Mr R Cory Pierce, Mr J<br />
Wallwork, Mr C M McGregor, Dr G I Verney,<br />
Dr C D R Flower, Dr J M Collis, Dr D W<br />
Bethune, Dr R Latimer and Dr J Hardy.’<br />
Tomatoes and rice gratin<br />
Serves 2<br />
1 onion chopped<br />
1 teaspoon (5ml)<br />
dried oregano<br />
1 tblsp (15ml)<br />
vegetable oil<br />
5oz (150g) long grain brown rice<br />
½pint (300ml) water<br />
1¼ lb (500g) tomatoes, skinned and cut<br />
into slices<br />
Seasoning to taste<br />
4oz (115g) Emmental cheese grated<br />
½oz (15g) butter<br />
Method<br />
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the<br />
onions and oregano and stir fry over a<br />
low heat for 3–4mins or until the onions<br />
are soft.<br />
On Tuesday 8th June 1982 I recovered<br />
consciousness in the Intensive Care Unit<br />
and the nurse immediately came to attend to<br />
me. She said ‘Thanks for doing everything I<br />
asked you to do. Everything went perfectly,<br />
you were the perfect patient.’ I was not very<br />
conscious so it must have been the training<br />
I had over the weekend. I was so pleased it<br />
had all gone so well.<br />
I had the stomach tube removed from<br />
my mouth without any discomfort. Then<br />
the nurse showed me a valve like the one<br />
implanted in me.<br />
Recovery<br />
I was taken back to the ward to the comer<br />
bed and not to the one behind the door. I did<br />
not feel severe pain – just some discomfort<br />
groaning even during physiotherapy. In due<br />
course the injection needle in my neck, the<br />
two tubes in my chest and the cannula in<br />
my left arm were removed. By night time<br />
I managed to pull myself upright using the<br />
rope and I was able to walk to the toilet<br />
to use the jar as everything going in and<br />
coming out of my body was being checked.<br />
I was being encouraged to drink a lot,<br />
tea and glasses of orange juice, I vaguely<br />
remembered having some dinner as well as<br />
evening tea. The evening pills trolley came<br />
and I started taking the pills: 2 slow K, 1<br />
furosemide (40mg), 1 digoxin (0.25mg),<br />
and warfarin.<br />
On Wednesday 9th – I did not note the<br />
exact time when – I started making more<br />
bed ropes from ropes in the sluice room and<br />
those from Felixstowe Docks but it was as<br />
soon as I was able to. I cut the ropes into 9ft<br />
lengths, made a loop one end and a dog’s tail<br />
at the other to loop onto the bottom bedrail,<br />
and tied knots at intervals to help patients<br />
get a good grip without the rope slipping<br />
through their fingers and jarring their body.<br />
Nurses brought other patients to see me<br />
Recipes – Janet Jackson<br />
Add the rice and the water. Bring to the<br />
boil, cover and simmer over a low heat for<br />
20mins. Transfer the rice mixture into an<br />
oven proof dish. Put the sliced tomatoes<br />
over the rice. Season to taste, then sprinkle<br />
over the cheese. Place the dish in a cold<br />
oven then switch on to 200C 400F gas 6.<br />
Bake for about 30 mins until the cheese has<br />
melted. Serve with a mixed salad.<br />
Soft fruit pudding<br />
Serves 4<br />
6tbls (150g) butter, melted<br />
1lb (450g) soft fruits – raspberries or<br />
blackberries<br />
2¾oz (75g) caster sugar<br />
1 egg<br />
2¾ oz (75g) soft brown sugar<br />
8tbls (200ml) milk<br />
4½ oz (130g) SR flour<br />
working to encourage their recovery. Mr<br />
Dennis Day was one of these and we kept<br />
in touch for many years – I visited him at<br />
Hitchin several times.<br />
When I finished making the ropes<br />
on the 13th of June, the day my stitches<br />
came out, the nurses got me on to knitting<br />
woollen squares for a blanket. My family<br />
and I finished making one at home with a<br />
red heart and ‘7th June 1982’ at its centre.<br />
We took it to the Papworth Hospital fête on<br />
Saturday 26th June.<br />
Home<br />
I was still having my morning and evening<br />
tablets. My discharge day was on Tuesday<br />
15th June. I was taken to see 19-year old<br />
Tracy in the women’s ward as she was<br />
terrified of her operation, and I hope I<br />
managed to ease her worries. I chatted with<br />
the lady in the next bed too. Mr Glennie<br />
arrived that day. Mr Horace Simpson (Sam)<br />
from Peterborough and Mr Somers from<br />
Ipswich are others I met at Papworth earlier.<br />
My memory is not as good as it was.<br />
A friend drove my wife and me home to<br />
Felixstowe. He wore lead boots and said he<br />
was frightened I might collapse on him so<br />
he sped us home – safely may I add.<br />
I returned with my family to the hospital<br />
fête on 26th of June. My wife had arranged<br />
with Sister Barker to help at the fête. We<br />
gave the woollen blanket to Sister Barker<br />
and Mrs Linda Hart’s stall, but bought it<br />
back again for £20. Mrs Hart had been very<br />
kind to me during my time in Papworth.<br />
I bought several paintings at the hospital’s<br />
annual fêtes. One of them is a View from the<br />
Bubble by Mr A Barlow 1979.<br />
I was put in touch with Mr Des Fox,<br />
Chairman of the local <strong>BCPA</strong> Zipper Club,<br />
visited him at his home in Elmswell and<br />
joined it then. Now it is 30 years on.<br />
Method<br />
Pre heat oven to 180C 350F<br />
gas 4. Lightly grease a 1½pt<br />
ovenproof dish. Gently mix<br />
the fruit with the caster sugar together<br />
in a large mixing bowl. Transfer the<br />
fruit mixture into the prepared dish. In<br />
a separate bowl beat the egg and brown<br />
sugar together. Stir in the melted butter<br />
and milk. Fold in the flour to form a<br />
smooth batter. Carefully spread over the<br />
fruit mixture. Bake for 25-30 mins until<br />
the topping is firm and golden. Sprinkle<br />
the pudding with a little soft brown<br />
sugar. Serve hot.<br />
If anyone has a favourite recipe<br />
please send it to me at 15 Abbey Road,<br />
Bingham, Nottingham NG13 8EE or to<br />
janet.jacksonmail@btinternet.com.<br />
9
10<br />
NICE guidance boost for patients needing TAVI<br />
Dr Bernard Prendergast, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist,<br />
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford<br />
Good news for patients with aortic stenosis!<br />
On 28th March 2012 the National Institute<br />
for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)<br />
provided updated positive guidance on<br />
the use of Transcatheter Aortic Valve<br />
Implantation (TAVI) for the treatment of<br />
high risk patients with severe aortic stenosis<br />
who are unsuitable for traditional open heart<br />
surgery.<br />
For interventional cardiologists like me,<br />
who have been working on TAVI since<br />
2007, it is welcome recognition of the fact<br />
that the procedure is now viewed as an<br />
established alternative to surgical aortic<br />
valve replacement in the most seriously ill<br />
patients.<br />
Technology<br />
With TAVI, we are able to implant a new<br />
aortic valve within the diseased valve<br />
using keyhole techniques – either via the<br />
leg artery (transfemoral) or a small chest<br />
incision through the ribs (transapical). This<br />
technology provides a treatment option for<br />
those who are too ill for open-heart surgery<br />
or have anatomical reasons why their aortic<br />
valve cannot be replaced using traditional<br />
techniques.<br />
Our experience with TAVI in the UK<br />
has been very positive to date, although<br />
expansion of the technique has been<br />
limited – of more than 40,000 procedures<br />
undertaken worldwide, only 1,500 have<br />
been performed in the UK. Nevertheless,<br />
our results compare favourably with<br />
those of our international colleagues and<br />
further expansion seems likely as a result<br />
of falling costs, encouraging clinical<br />
evidence, recommendations of international<br />
guidelines, and the recent guidance from<br />
NICE. Consequently, many more deserving<br />
patients with aortic stenosis will benefit<br />
from what TAVI can offer.<br />
The PARTNER B Trial from the US<br />
certainly provides outstanding data to<br />
support the clinical enthusiasm for TAVI.<br />
In this study, mortality at one year was<br />
20% lower in patients treated with TAVI<br />
than those treated with standard therapy of<br />
medication with or without a simple balloon<br />
stretch procedure (balloon valvuloplasty). 1<br />
In other words, only 5 patients required<br />
treatment with TAVI to save 1 life.<br />
Furthermore, the trial also showed rapid<br />
recovery and convalescence after TAVI,<br />
encouraging improvement in day-to-day<br />
symptoms (breathlessness, chest pain and<br />
dizziness) and overall measures of Quality<br />
of Life, and reduced need for repeated<br />
hospital admission in virtually all subjects. 2<br />
These outcomes match the experiences of<br />
clinicians involved in the management of<br />
this challenging group of patients.<br />
Specialist assessment essential<br />
TAVI cannot, of course, help absolutely<br />
everyone. Some patients may be simply<br />
too ill or frail to gain from the procedure<br />
and in others there may anatomical issues<br />
which make valve implantation impossible.<br />
The role of the specialists is to assess each<br />
patient carefully to determine whether their<br />
condition is most suitable for conventional<br />
surgery, TAVI, balloon valvuloplasty,<br />
or conservative medical therapy. This<br />
decision is best made by multi-disciplinary<br />
teams (MDTs) consisting of surgeons,<br />
interventional cardiologists, anaesthetists,<br />
imaging specialists, and physicians with<br />
experience in the care of the elderly, all of<br />
whom who have been specially trained in<br />
the procedure. These teams must be based<br />
at certified centres that have full access to<br />
the specialised equipment and resources<br />
necessary to perform TAVI.<br />
An inevitable question is whether TAVI<br />
could eventually replace conventional<br />
surgical valve replacement, in the same way<br />
that keyhole procedures for gallstones have<br />
superseded open abdominal surgery. At this<br />
stage, it is too early to form a conclusion<br />
since long-term results are not yet available<br />
and superiority over surgery is yet to be<br />
demonstrated. The TAVI procedure and<br />
associated technology is evolving rapidly<br />
and it seems likely that more and more<br />
patients will be treated using the technique<br />
in years to come. However, we should<br />
remember that it remains a major invasive<br />
and high-risk procedure that is still in its<br />
development phase. Moreover, conventional<br />
surgical aortic valve replacement is a<br />
tried and trusted procedure with excellent<br />
immediate and long term results in well<br />
selected patients. TAVI should not be<br />
offered to patients simply out of preference<br />
for a less invasive approach.<br />
Most exciting developments<br />
Without doubt, TAVI is a ground breaking<br />
alternative to open heart surgery and a<br />
potential saviour for certain patients for<br />
whom surgery is not an option. It is one<br />
of the most exciting developments in<br />
cardiology that I have seen in my career and<br />
I am certain the procedure has a positive<br />
future.<br />
Sources 1 Leon MB, Smith CR, Mack M,<br />
Miller DC, et al. Transcatheter Aortic-<br />
Valve Implantation for Aortic Stenosis in<br />
<strong>Patients</strong> Who Cannot Undergo Surgery N<br />
Engl J Med 2010; 363:1597-1607<br />
2 Reynolds MR, Magnuson EA et al.<br />
Health-Related Quality of Life After<br />
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement<br />
in Inoperable <strong>Patients</strong> With Severe Aortic<br />
Stenosis. Circulation 2011;124:1964-197<br />
Talks offered – Alan Thomas, <strong>BCPA</strong> Life member<br />
A professional speaker for many organisations, I am happy<br />
to offer talks without fee to any <strong>BCPA</strong> Area Group, but<br />
would require travel expenses if the venue lies outside<br />
the Greater London area. Perhaps there may be another<br />
charity that you, a reader, are a member of, eg WI, U3A or<br />
some other who may be interested in one of the list I offer.<br />
The talks I have available are:<br />
• New York – impressions and experiences from many<br />
years of living there; and/or the discovery, development,<br />
scope and character of New York city<br />
• Public speaking – pleasures and pitfalls<br />
• The lively mind – approaches and techniques for<br />
keeping an active mind<br />
Statue of Liberty,<br />
New York<br />
The TAVI valve<br />
is crimped to a<br />
pencil thin size<br />
before entering the<br />
femoral artery. It is<br />
then implanted into<br />
the aortic valve by<br />
balloon-inflation.<br />
The SAPIEN XT<br />
valve is one of the<br />
TAVI valves available<br />
to interventional<br />
cardiologists and<br />
cardiac surgeons.<br />
• Our reminiscences – their value, reliability, prompting<br />
and recording<br />
• Stories – their multiple uses, including performances of<br />
stories of contrasting types<br />
• The Statue of Liberty – precursors, European<br />
inspirations, engineering features, Emma Lazarus, the<br />
ever-changing meanings of the symbol, and immigration<br />
• Carnegie Hall – origins, development, functions, and<br />
how saved for posterity<br />
Please contact me at 0208 579 6606, alro.th@virgin.net,<br />
or 16 Park Place, London W5 5NQ.
Dates for your diary<br />
W 27 June 7.30 Group meeting. Also W 22 Aug 7.30, W 24 Oct 7.30, W 5 Dec 7.30<br />
Cambridge<br />
Chelmsford and<br />
Sat 11 Aug<br />
F 15 June<br />
Southwold trip 4th Wed of even months 7.30 at Great Shelford Memorial Hall<br />
The Making and History of Decorated Eggs<br />
District <strong>Cardiac</strong> F 20 July<br />
Raise Your Glass – A Toastmaster’s Tale<br />
Support Group F 17 Aug<br />
The Easy, The Not So Easy and The Damn Difficult of Nature Photography<br />
F 21 Sep<br />
Barges on the Blackwater<br />
F 19 Oct<br />
The Inca Trail<br />
Halton<br />
F 16 Nov<br />
F 7 Dec<br />
Tu 19 June<br />
Midland Grand Hotel Old and New<br />
Christmas Social<br />
Trip to the Imperial Hotel, Llandudno<br />
All 8.00 at Broomfield Parish Hall<br />
Every Th 1-3 at The Grangeway Community<br />
Every Th 1-3<br />
Centre, Runcorn, for various activities, line dancing, Tai Chi, and gentle exercise<br />
Havering Hearties<br />
King of Hearts,<br />
2nd Thur 7.30<br />
2nd Wed 7.30<br />
At The Royal <strong>British</strong> Legion Club premises, Western Road, Romford, Essex<br />
The Aldborough Room, Fullwell Cross Library, High Street, Barkingside IG6 2EA<br />
Redbridge, Essex<br />
For details contact Tony Roth 020 8252 0877<br />
Lincoln Tu 19 June 7.30 Bill Hodgson. Walking stick makers<br />
W 20 June<br />
Midsummer trip – see report<br />
Tu 17 July 7.30 Bob Oakes, Blacksmith All Methodist Church Hall, North Hykeham<br />
M 13 Aug<br />
Boat trip on the Wash – see report<br />
Tu 21 Aug 7.30 Katherine Theabould & Karen Duff. <strong>Cardiac</strong> Support update<br />
Sat 29 Sept<br />
Day trip to Southwell Ploughing Match, Aversham, Newark<br />
Peterborough 3rd Th 12 for 12.30 Lunches on the 3rd Thursday of each month excluding December at the Cherry Tree<br />
Public House, Oundle Road. Contact Gordon to attend.<br />
SE London & Kent Tu 12 June 7.30 for 8 Meal at the Toby Carvery, Bromley Common<br />
F 13 July 7.15 for 7.30 Strawberries and Cream Night<br />
F 12 Oct 7.15 for 7.30 Quiz Night All at the Victory Social Club, Kechill Gardens, Hayes<br />
Staffs & District W 6 June<br />
Trip to Bury Market – see report<br />
Tu 26 June 7.30 for 8 Talk by Paul Seabridge, Fire safety in the home<br />
Tu 31 July 7.30 for 8 Quiz<br />
Tu 28 Aug 7.30 for 8 Bingo<br />
Tu 25 Sept 7.30 for 8 Heart Start<br />
Take Heart, Southend<br />
West Suffolk & SW<br />
Tu 30 Oct 7.30 for 8<br />
Tu 27 Nov 7.30 for 8<br />
2nd Th 8.00<br />
TBA<br />
Crime Prevention Each last Tu 7.30 for 8.00 at<br />
Music with Karen Shutt on the Piano Thistleberry Hotel, Newcastle, Staffs<br />
2nd Th 8.00 at Eastwood Community Centre, Western Approaches, Leigh-On-Sea<br />
Postponed AGM – see report<br />
Norfolk<br />
Warrington<br />
Wirral<br />
3 Dec<br />
3rd Th 7.00<br />
M 11 June 7.30<br />
Christmas dinner Meetings are usually at the Risbygate Bowls Club<br />
All 3rd Th 7-9pm at Post-Graduate Centre, Warrington General Hospital<br />
Cath James <strong>Cardiac</strong> Rehabilitation<br />
M 9 July 7.30 Games Night<br />
M 13 Aug 7.30 No Meeting<br />
M 10 Sept 7.30 Pat Lloyd Age UK<br />
M 8 Oct 7.30 Dr Geraldine Swift, Psychiatrist<br />
M 12 Nov 7.30<br />
M 10 Dec 7.30<br />
M 14 Jan 2013 7.30<br />
M 11 Feb 2013 7.30<br />
Games Night<br />
Christmas Social Evening<br />
To Be Arranged<br />
Annual General Meeting Each 2nd Mon 7.30 at Heswall Hall, Heswall<br />
Wrexham 3rd Tu 7.00 At <strong>Association</strong> of Voluntary Organisations, AVOW, Egerton Street, Wrexham<br />
<strong>Patients</strong> should have a voice too!<br />
Nadine van Dongen, Managing Director, PIP Health<br />
Sometimes it might feel like we, as patients,<br />
know very little about our conditions and<br />
treatment. After all, doctors and specialists<br />
have years of training and experience, and<br />
could fill many medical encyclopaedias with<br />
their knowledge. That’s why we trust them to<br />
carry out such delicate procedures! However, as<br />
patients we too should not forget that we have<br />
a very important role to play in determining the<br />
outcome of our treatment.<br />
Numerous studies have shown that the patient experience has a<br />
big impact on the effectiveness of treatments. In fact, what doctors<br />
call ‘non-adherence’ to medication has been documented in more<br />
than 60% of cardiovascular patients (Kravitz et al, 1993), despite<br />
the evidence that taking your pills as directed significantly reduces<br />
the risk of further complications (Jackevicius et al, 2008).<br />
So why do we patients not just do as we’re told? Well, as many<br />
of you will know patients with cardiovascular disease often have so<br />
many pills – all of different colours – that it’s hard to know which is<br />
which! So surely something should be done about this?<br />
This demonstrates why it is important for<br />
patients to share their experiences about their<br />
condition or treatment. Through research –<br />
whether it is online surveys or group interviews<br />
– patients have a way to share these experiences<br />
so that doctors and drug companies can do<br />
something about it.<br />
That is where Patient Intelligence Panel<br />
(or PIP Health for short) comes in. PIP Health<br />
is a research company working to improve<br />
healthcare for patients through research. Through their research,<br />
they are able to gather robust data from large numbers of people<br />
which can be used to improve health services and communication<br />
for patients.<br />
If you would be interested in hearing more about their research, all<br />
you have to do is register on their site. It’s totally free, and each<br />
time you fill in a questionnaire they will donate £1 to the <strong>BCPA</strong>. If<br />
you would like more information, or to register, visit their website<br />
now. After all, patients should have a voice too! www.piphealth.<br />
com/<strong>BCPA</strong><br />
11
12<br />
How do we ‘stat up’? - Corey Beecher<br />
It is a commonly known fact that ‘To<br />
exercise is better than NOT to exercise’.<br />
Well just being a fact does not mean that<br />
people will follow the advice given. After all<br />
we have a freedom of speech and therefore<br />
a freedom of action. Even when armed with<br />
the full set of information the choice is still<br />
that of the individual – and quite correctly<br />
too. We should not be living in a world of<br />
dictators informing us of what we should be<br />
doing and then checking up to see that we<br />
are doing as we are supposed to. It is a free<br />
choice as to how we choose to use our own<br />
free time and this should be how it stays.<br />
But some things are better for us than<br />
others, it has been scientifically proved.<br />
Exercise is just one of those areas, where<br />
regularly partaking in a form that you enjoy<br />
and can will provide you with many benefits.<br />
<strong>British</strong> Heart Foundation<br />
So how many of us actually pick ourselves<br />
off of the sofa and get out and moving?<br />
The <strong>British</strong> Heart Foundation regularly<br />
undertake a review of what people are<br />
doing in regard to their risk factor profile.<br />
They look into such things as cholesterol<br />
levels, medication compliance, diet, blood<br />
pressure, heart rates and physical activity<br />
levels. 1<br />
Government guidelines<br />
The government offer us guidelines in<br />
terms of the physical activity we should<br />
be completing. The current guidelines are<br />
for three formal exercise sessions a week<br />
with you reaching a moderate intensity of<br />
exercise.<br />
This should be for around 30 minutes,<br />
Second copy of the crossword<br />
This is here so two people may do it. Fold back page 13 down the<br />
middle so you can see the clues on the left side of page 14 as well as<br />
this copy, without seeing the other crossword itself.<br />
1 2 3 4 5 6<br />
7 8<br />
9 10<br />
11 12<br />
13 14<br />
15 16 17 18<br />
19 20 21 22 23<br />
24<br />
25 26 27 28 29<br />
30 31 32<br />
33<br />
34 35<br />
excluding a warm up and cool down, which<br />
should last 15 minutes and 10 minutes<br />
respectively. Then having 2 days of daily<br />
active living where you are trying to be<br />
more active for an additional 30 minutes<br />
during the day.<br />
The difference between the exercise and<br />
the physical activity is that the exercise will<br />
need to be completed in one go, so just under<br />
an hour for the full session. The physical<br />
activity can be completed in any breakdown<br />
of the 30 minutes you can imagine. So if<br />
during a day you walked for 10 minutes,<br />
gardened for 5 minutes, swept the drive for<br />
5 minutes, wandered around the shops for<br />
10 minutes that would be the 30 minutes<br />
total.<br />
The latest published figures are<br />
interesting. They show that in England there<br />
were 34% of men meeting these government<br />
guidelines in 1998 and by 2008 that figure<br />
had increased to 42%. In Scotland the picture<br />
for men is similar, but the progression is<br />
slightly less. It was 40% in 1998 and by<br />
2008 it had risen to 46%, so more men in<br />
Scotland were and are achieving the target<br />
than in England.<br />
For women, in England it was 21% in<br />
1998 and rose to 31% in 2008. In Scotland<br />
it was 29% in 1998 and went up to 35% in<br />
2008. So it shows that the Scots do complete<br />
more exercise.<br />
The percentages of people who exercise<br />
above, at, or below the government guideline<br />
of 5 times a week also paint a picture.<br />
In England 53% of men aged 16-<br />
24 exercise above the recommended 5<br />
times per week. However at age 75+ this<br />
percentage drops to 9%. 30% of the 16-24<br />
group and 23% of the<br />
75+ group achieve<br />
exactly 5 times per<br />
week. 16% of the 16-<br />
24 age group and 68%<br />
of the 75+ group do<br />
less than that.<br />
Women in England<br />
show similar figures,<br />
with 35% of 16-24<br />
group and 6% of 75+<br />
group achieving more<br />
than 5 times a week.<br />
33% of the 16-24<br />
group and 16% of 75+<br />
achieving exactly 5<br />
times a week. 32% of<br />
the 16-24 and 78% of<br />
the 75+ do less than<br />
that.<br />
Now with the<br />
differing health<br />
issues that the older<br />
generation need<br />
to manage, it is<br />
imperative that they take<br />
the time to find activities<br />
that help them manage and assist them in<br />
keeping themselves out of hospital and on<br />
the treadmill – figuratively and actively<br />
speaking. So taking the time to try different<br />
activities when the opportunity arises can<br />
only be a positive move.<br />
Look in your local area for any sports<br />
development programme to encourage<br />
people to rediscover the sports they left<br />
behind in their youth. As an example Bedford<br />
Borough Council offer a discounted trial of<br />
8 weeks of activities under their Reactive8<br />
programme. This is for people between 30<br />
and 50. It includes ballroom dancing, kendo,<br />
badminton, swim stroke improvement and<br />
golf.<br />
Look in your local library to uncover<br />
what is available near you to start you off on<br />
the quest for a new you.<br />
Compare with Europe<br />
Back to the stats now, with a look at how the<br />
UK compares with other parts of Europe.<br />
The breakdown is for people over the age<br />
of 18 exercising and is not gender sensitive.<br />
The categories are<br />
• exercising regularly,<br />
• with some regularity,<br />
• seldom,<br />
• never, and<br />
• don’t know.<br />
Think about where you may fall in this<br />
list of categories.<br />
For example, in the Czech Republic<br />
5% exercise regularly, 23% exercise with<br />
some regularity, 25% seldom exercise, and<br />
37% never exercise. In Italy 3% regularly<br />
exercise, 26% with some regularity, 16%<br />
seldom and 55% never. In the Netherlands<br />
5% exercise regularly, 51% with some<br />
regularity, 16% seldom and 28% never.<br />
The UK figures are 14% regularly, 32%<br />
with some regularity, 22% seldom and 32%<br />
never.<br />
Ireland is the country with the highest<br />
percentage of people exercise regularly<br />
–23%. Bulgaria has the lowest percentage<br />
for any exercise, with 58% never taking any<br />
exercise.<br />
It is interesting to look at the figures<br />
and see where we, as a nation fall. With<br />
everyone doing just a simple short walk<br />
each day we could improve the percentage<br />
of people exercising in the UK; and maybe,<br />
just maybe, we could one day boast that we<br />
have the highest percentage of people in our<br />
nation regularly exercising and meeting the<br />
criteria for a fitter, healthier body.<br />
Let’s give it a go and overtake our<br />
European cousins and show them it is<br />
possible and that it is FUN.<br />
Source 1 <strong>British</strong> Heart Foundation<br />
Statistics database. heartstats.org, 2010
A New Beginning: Memoirs of a Voluntary Worker<br />
1981-1996 – Fred Roach<br />
Keith Jackson<br />
In the February and April issues of the <strong>Journal</strong> we recollected some<br />
of Fred’s visiting experiences from his chapter headed Smiles and<br />
Tears. We continue with Transplantation.<br />
Transplantation<br />
On 18th August 1979 I had an appointment to see Sir Terence<br />
English at his clinic at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. There were an<br />
unusual number of patients waiting and we were told that the clinic<br />
was running late. Suddenly a doctor appeared who was obviously<br />
in a hurry and he announced that due to an emergency at Papworth<br />
Hospital Sir Terence English was unable to be present and therefore<br />
he would be taking the clinic. The patients were seen in record<br />
time – indeed it was one of the quickest clinic examinations I had<br />
experienced.<br />
Later that evening while I was watching the television news<br />
programme it was announced that the first successful heart transplant<br />
in the UK had been carried out at Papworth Hospital by Sir Terence<br />
English. The patient was Mr Keith Castle.<br />
It was my pleasure to meet Mr Keith Castle and his wife, Doreen,<br />
on many occasions during my work in the hospital. Sometimes he<br />
would stay for a few days for routine checks, at other times he would<br />
have to stay longer. He did not appreciate long stays in hospital yet<br />
he retained a good sense of humour.<br />
I remember meeting Keith on Surgical Unit Top Floor one<br />
Sunday and when I asked him why he had come in again, he said he<br />
must have caught some bug or other. His stay on this occasion was<br />
longer than normal and I visited him often during that period. Each<br />
time he would make some remark such as, ‘They still can’t trace<br />
the bug’. As I went to see him on my next visit to the hospital there<br />
was a large notice pinned to the door of his room. I had seen such<br />
notices in the countryside to announce a Pigeon Shoot. The notice<br />
on Keith’s door was a similar notice with the exception that the two<br />
vowels in the second word had been blotted out and replaced by a<br />
different single vowel.<br />
Prior to his heart problems Keith had been a builder in London.<br />
His sons had since taken over the business. He had visited a<br />
site where his sons were demolishing property and as one can<br />
imagine, Trafalgar Square is not the only place in London where<br />
pigeons congregate or leave their ‘calling card’. The dust from the<br />
demolished property had caused the problem. Once the villain had<br />
been discovered the Papworth team quickly found a solution.<br />
In 1985 Mr Keith Castle passed away. He and his wife Doreen had<br />
been valued members of the <strong>BCPA</strong>. Since his transplant he had been<br />
a fine ambassador for transplantation and had raised considerable<br />
funds for Papworth Hospital. Keith’s death was a sad blow but<br />
the work of the transplant team continued, in that, during 1985, a<br />
further five heart/lung transplants and over forty heart transplants<br />
were carried out. I spent a great deal of time in supporting them and<br />
their families.<br />
The one hundredth heart transplant at Papworth took place in<br />
1985. The patient, Pamela, was also the youngest, being just nine<br />
years old. Her room was well stocked with dolls and Pamela soon<br />
became the proud owner of a nurse’s outfit. Hardly a day went by<br />
without one of the dolls having to undergo a ‘transplant’. The staff<br />
had great fun in supplying the necessary ‘nursing’ aids, hypodermic<br />
syringe (minus needles of course), ECG machines, and masks. It<br />
was amazing what could be made with silver foil.<br />
The introduction of the anti-rejection drug, cyclosporin, coupled<br />
with the skill of the transplant team was to make a dramatic<br />
improvement in the progress the transplant patients were making<br />
- which resulted in earlier discharge from hospital. Often I would<br />
meet patients and their partners who had<br />
been referred to the hospital to be assessed<br />
for transplant. If they were suitable for the<br />
transplant programme they returned home<br />
and would wait anxiously for ‘the call’ from<br />
Papworth. During the waiting period I often<br />
received calls from them on the helpline and<br />
when eventually the call came it was like a Fred & June Roach<br />
re-union of friends.<br />
I remember one incident when I had just returned home from<br />
my Sunday visit to Papworth and then received a telephone call<br />
from a lady in Kent. Her husband had received ‘the call’ from the<br />
transplant co-ordinator and she and her daughter were following the<br />
ambulance to Papworth. They expected to arrive around 7.30pm<br />
and would like me to meet them to give support. I returned to the<br />
hospital immediately and was there in time to welcome the family<br />
as the patient was taken to be prepared for surgery. The family went<br />
to see the patient prior to his going into the anaesthetic room at<br />
around l0pm.<br />
The co-ordinator came to see the family in the visitors’ room<br />
about an hour later and said that the operation was going ahead<br />
and would take approximately another three hours. The daughter<br />
and her fiancé were going to drive back to Kent after being assured<br />
that the operation was over, whilst the wife was going to stay in a<br />
visitor’s bedroom on the top floor of the Baron Ward. It was quite<br />
obvious to me that the wife was extremely tired and under great<br />
stress. I tried to persuade her to go to bed but she declined to do so.<br />
The next message from the theatre was that the operation was going<br />
extremely well and the patient was expected to be transferred to the<br />
‘bubble’ at about 3am.<br />
Again I tried to persuade the wife to go to bed and was supported<br />
in this by the daughter and a nurse who also offered to provide a<br />
sleeping tablet to help her. I explained that, even if she stayed up<br />
long enough to see her husband it would only be through the glass<br />
door of his room and he would still be unconscious. I suggested<br />
that it would be far better for her to accept the nurse’s offer of a<br />
sleeping tablet and go to bed so that in the morning she would be<br />
more refreshed when she was able to see and speak to her husband.<br />
At 1am she agreed that she needed sleep and would go to bed after<br />
being assured that she would be called immediately if she was<br />
needed.<br />
There was one personal problem which caused me some concern<br />
at the beginning. I was severely hard of hearing in the left ear<br />
and wore a hearing aid. The operative word is ‘aid’ and it has its<br />
limitations. In a one-to-one situation, providing that the speaker<br />
enunciates clearly, there is no problem. However, in a ward there<br />
are many noises which override the benefit of the aid, coupled with<br />
the fact that many patients do not feel up to speaking clearly. Having<br />
been hard of hearing since my mid-thirties I had received training<br />
in lip reading or, to be more precise, speech reading. This entailed<br />
observation of the lips, eyes, head and shoulders of the speaker. In<br />
some respects this reading of body language was an advantage over<br />
those people who listened but did not observe.<br />
On one occasion I was about to visit a transplant patient who had<br />
a tracheotomy. The staff nurse told me that there was little point in<br />
me seeing the patient as she was unable to speak but I was welcome<br />
to visit if I wished. I entered the room and spoke to the young patient<br />
and she responded silently. I was able to understand clearly what<br />
she was saying and we were able to have a long conversation. I was<br />
a regular visitor during her stay and it was a delight when the tube<br />
was finally removed and I was able to hear her voice.<br />
13
Crossword – second copy page 12, answers page 5<br />
This crossword has a theme – the answer to 1 and 4 across.<br />
Clues have a straight clue similar to a quick crossword as either the<br />
first or last part. The rest usually either gives another definition ie<br />
two meanings, or is a cryptic clue such as an anagram or a way to<br />
build up the answer. Numbers such as ‘25’ refer to that clue.<br />
Across<br />
1,4 Alive objects as crossword theme (6,6)<br />
7 Muddled 16 period (3)<br />
9 Person who studies the theme (9)<br />
11 Small parts of feet (4)<br />
12 All the time eternally (4)<br />
14 Back in case small bag formed by membrane (3)<br />
15,17 Spreading conker growth (8,4)<br />
19 Two-legged feathered flier (4)<br />
21 Leaders of teams or boat crews (8)<br />
24 Information, computers, technology (3)<br />
25 Girl from where item made (4)<br />
28 Mound of 4 from reverse lipid (4)<br />
30 Adjustable and changing easily (9)<br />
33 It is shortened possessive (3)<br />
34 Large fish that spawns in rivers in messy Monsal Dale (6)<br />
35 Quadrupeds for riding and pulling (6)<br />
Down<br />
1 Colourless acid from muscles in sour milk (6)<br />
2 Parts of eyes and flowering plants with sword-shaped leaves (6)<br />
3 Get on well with semi-solid substance like jelly (3)<br />
4 Label something added at the end (3)<br />
5 Small six-legged animal grows in sections (6)<br />
6 Origin or cause (6)<br />
8 Part of eye sensitive to dim light and fishing pole (3)<br />
9 Exist among the obese (2)<br />
10 In what viewers watch (2)<br />
13 Feeling of dread, anxiety about shortcomings (5)<br />
14 Undress a long narrow flat piece (5)<br />
16 Plant part containing grain for hearing (3)<br />
18 Fish eggs or deer (3)<br />
19 Produces young distinct strains of animals (6)<br />
20 Jewelled headband or crown (6)<br />
22 Tall tree from starless polar parts (6)<br />
23 Hard coverings of crabs or eggs (6)<br />
26 Mother part of 25 (2)<br />
27 Over the top of odd octet (3)<br />
29 That is part of a biennial (2)<br />
31 Secret security code derived from lupins (3)<br />
32 17 burnt remains (3)<br />
Affiliated Groups<br />
Chelmsford & District <strong>Cardiac</strong> Support: Malcolm Gibson<br />
01621 893064<br />
Chester Heart Support: Peter Diamond 01244 851441<br />
Croydon Heart Support: Ken Morcombe 020 8657 2511<br />
Havering Hearties: Jackie Richmond 01708 472697<br />
King of Hearts, Redbridge, Essex: Tony Roth 020 8252 0877<br />
Southend Take Heart: George Turner 01702 421522<br />
Wolverhampton Coronary Aftercare Support: Ken Timmis<br />
01902 755695<br />
The <strong>Journal</strong> is the bimonthly magazine of the<br />
BRITISH CARDIAC PATIENTS ASSOCIATION<br />
also known as <strong>BCPA</strong>. Registered Charity 289190<br />
President: Sir Terence English KBE, FRCS Vice-Presidents: Ben Milstein MA FRCS; Alan Bowcher DMS FFA<br />
Executive Officers<br />
Chairman: Keith Jackson Tel: 01949 836430<br />
Vice-Chairman & <strong>Journal</strong> Editor: Dr Richard Maddison Tel: 01234 212293 Email: richard.maddison@timicomail.co.uk<br />
Treasurer: Derek Holley OBE FCA<br />
<strong>BCPA</strong> Head Office: 15 Abbey Road, Bingham, Notts NG13 8EE Tel 01949 837070<br />
Email: admin@<strong>BCPA</strong>.co.uk Website: www.<strong>BCPA</strong>.co.uk<br />
Opinions expressed in the <strong>Journal</strong> are not necessarily those of the Editor or the <strong>BCPA</strong>. No item may be reproduced without consent.<br />
Advertisements must conform to the <strong>British</strong> Code of Advertising Practice. Publication does not indicate endorsement by the <strong>BCPA</strong>.<br />
© Copyright 2012 <strong>BCPA</strong> and/or the authors<br />
Design and production – John Hunt, john@cartog.co.uk Printed by – Core Publications Ltd, Kettering<br />
14<br />
1 2 3 4 5 6<br />
7 8<br />
9 10<br />
11 12<br />
13 14<br />
15 16 17 18<br />
19 20 21 22 23<br />
24<br />
25 26 27 28 29<br />
30 31 32<br />
33<br />
34 35<br />
Co-ordinators<br />
Cambridge: Bert Truelove 01223 844800<br />
Halton: Stella Bate 01928 566484<br />
Lincoln: Bill May 01522 885756<br />
Peterborough: Gordon Wakefield 01733 577629<br />
South East London & Kent: Chris Howell 01689 821413<br />
Staffordshire: Eddie Coxon 01782 416143<br />
Warrington: Dennis Atkinson 01925 824856<br />
West Suffolk & South West Norfolk: Brian Hartington<br />
01284 762783<br />
Wirral: George Bird 0151 653 4530<br />
Wrexham: Alan Ellis 01978 352862<br />
Contacts<br />
Bedford: via <strong>BCPA</strong> Head Office 01949 837070<br />
Belfast: John Hamill 028 9081 3649<br />
Cannock Area: Brian Nicholls 01922 412753<br />
Chester: via <strong>BCPA</strong> Head Office 01949 837070<br />
East Suffolk: via <strong>BCPA</strong> Head Office 01949 837070<br />
Hampshire: Derek Rudland 01329 282809<br />
Hull & East Riding: Stephen Hackett 01482 561710<br />
Llandudno: Joan Owen 01492 876926<br />
Lowestoft: John Genower 01502 511894<br />
North Staffordshire Implantable Cardioverter<br />
Defibrillator ICD Group: James Lyons 01782 852509<br />
Oxfordshire: Chris Gould 01491 872454<br />
Swindon: Jim Harris 01793 534130
Membership and aims<br />
Whatever your interest it may be that becoming a member is<br />
something you have never considered.<br />
Are you reading this <strong>Journal</strong> as someone who is not a member<br />
of the <strong>Association</strong>? If so we are pleased to count you as a valuable<br />
part of our readership.<br />
However, might you take a few moments to consider making<br />
use of the application form to join the <strong>Association</strong>. It may be<br />
that you are a heart patient, a relative or carer of someone with a<br />
heart condition, or indeed someone taking a general interest in the<br />
<strong>Association</strong> and the support we are able to offer. Whatever your<br />
interest it may be that becoming a member is something you have<br />
never considered. May we invite you to consider it now. We would<br />
be delighted to hear from you.<br />
We partly rely on donations to help us support cardiac patients<br />
and their families or carers. We aim to provide advice, information<br />
and support to help anyone who has had a heart condition, and aim<br />
If you wish to make a donation, please add the amount to your<br />
membership, or send it with your name and address and a signed<br />
copy of the Gift Aid wording if appropriate to the Head Office<br />
address. Donations will be acknowledged.<br />
Amount of donation £ ...........<br />
If over £50 may we also put it in the <strong>BCPA</strong> <strong>Journal</strong>? Yes/No<br />
If you would like your donation to go to your local group, give<br />
Name of Group ................................................<br />
Please make cheques payable to: <strong>BCPA</strong> (The <strong>British</strong> <strong>Cardiac</strong><br />
<strong>Patients</strong> <strong>Association</strong>).<br />
Membership application or renewal<br />
Please send this application to: <strong>BCPA</strong>, 15 Abbey Road, Bingham, Notts NG13 8EE<br />
Subscription enquiries telephone: 01949 837070<br />
Membership £10 per annum Life £100<br />
Joint membership £15 per annum Life £150<br />
Overseas subscriptions £10 per annum<br />
Life members may pay in two instalments, the second being 6<br />
months after the first.<br />
New member Renewal<br />
to help reduce or prevent heart-related troubles. Your<br />
generosity could help us to help others to live a fuller<br />
and healthier life.<br />
If you do not have a group near you and would be willing to<br />
help start one in your area, please contact our Head Office for an<br />
informal discussion.<br />
If you have any questions that we can help you with please write<br />
them on a separate sheet of paper and we will do our best to help<br />
you.<br />
If you are paying income or capital gains tax at the standard rate or<br />
above, you should make the following declaration:<br />
I want the <strong>BCPA</strong> to treat all donations I make in this tax year<br />
and all donations I make from the date of this declaration<br />
until I notify you otherwise as Gift Aid donations.<br />
I understand that I must pay an amount of UK income tax<br />
and/or capital gains tax at least equal to the tax the <strong>BCPA</strong><br />
reclaims on my donations in each tax year.<br />
Yes, Gift Aid No<br />
1 You can cancel this declaration at any time by notifying the<br />
<strong>BCPA</strong><br />
2 If your circumstances change and you no longer pay income<br />
or capital gains tax equal to the tax that the <strong>BCPA</strong> reclaims,<br />
you should cancel your declaration<br />
3 If you pay tax at the higher rate you can claim further tax relief<br />
in your self-assessment tax return<br />
4 If you are unsure if your donations qualify for Gift Aid tax<br />
relief, ask the <strong>BCPA</strong> or refer to help sheet IR65 on the HMRC<br />
website www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities<br />
Signed………………………………………................................... Date………………………………….<br />
Mr/Mrs/Ms ................... Date of Birth .............................................<br />
Forename(s) .....................................................................................<br />
Surname ...........................................................................................<br />
Address ............................................................................................<br />
..........................................................................................................<br />
.................................................Postcode ..........................................<br />
Telephone .........................................................................................<br />
Email ................................................................................................<br />
Joint member’s name .......................................................................<br />
..........................................................................................................<br />
Address <strong>BCPA</strong>, 15 Abbey Road, Bingham, Notts<br />
NG13 8EE<br />
Telephone 01949 837070<br />
Email admin@bcpa.co.uk<br />
Website www.<strong>BCPA</strong>.co.uk<br />
Registered Charity 289190<br />
Type(s) of treatment(s) & hospital(s) ..............................................<br />
..........................................................................................................<br />
..........................................................................................................<br />
Is there anything you would like help with or information about?<br />
..........................................................................................................<br />
..........................................................................................................<br />
..........................................................................................................<br />
..........................................................................................................<br />
..........................................................................................................<br />
..........................................................................................................<br />
15
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