UL Hospitals staff advise on heart health in free public lecture

A free public lecture on looking after your heart health and on the services available locally at University Hospital Limerick takes place on Tuesday, January 23rd, (6pm) at the Clinical Education and Research Centre, UHL.
 
The series of lectures forms part of UL Hospitals' Healthy Ireland programme, which commits the group to greater public engagement and more educational events.
 
Speakers on the evening are to include:
·         Dr Samer Arnous, Consultant Cardiologist, University Hospital Limerick
·         Catriona Ahern, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Cardiac Rehabilitation, University Hospital Limerick
·         Ciara Cahill, Staff Nurse, Coronary Care Unit, University Hospital Limerick

In addition, a patient who is recovering from a heart attack having been treated at UHL, will speak on the night about his experience. Those who attend will learn what to expect if they suffer an acute cardiac event.
 
“We want to inform the public about the services we provide. We will tell them about how we treat heart attacks and what the pathway is from getting a heart attack to coming to us for treatment and what to expect afterwards,” said Dr Arnous.
 
“Of course, this is also a health promotion event and we also would like to raise awareness about heart attacks in particular and heart disease more generally. Cardiovascular disease is the single most common cause of death in Ireland and across the western world. People are living longer and therefore we see more of it.
 
“Lifestyle is also a factor and we are seeing younger people having heart attacks now. It is becoming more and more prevalent because of lifestyle, diet,  lack of exercise, smoking and the other risk factors,” said Dr Arnous.
 
The cardiology department at the University Hospital Limerick is a modern facility providing 24-hour cardiac care to patients including non-invasive and interventional procedures including: ECG, Echocardiogram, Coronary angiography, Coronary Angioplasty, stenting and advanced structural interventions. This unit serves patients from the surrounding area of Limerick, Clare, North Tipperary, North Kerry and North Cork.

The new cardiology department opened in January 2013 and is located in the Critical Care Block. It includes a 16-bed acute cardiac care unit, a step down cardiac facility and a day cardiology unit. UHL is a nationally designated 24/7 Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) centre for STEMIs.
 
In 2016, there were 7,424 outpatient attendances (1,644 new and 5,780 review patients) in Cardiology; in addition to 1,220 inpatient and 1,818 day case procedures. There were 3,832 Cath Lab procedures carried out in 2016.
 
 
A broad range of cardiology services are also provided at Ennis Hospital and Nenagh Hospital including outpatient clinics, diagnostic services, cardiac rehabilitation and Heart Failure clinics.
 
Prof Colette Cowan, CEO, UL Hospitals Group, has encouraged members of the public to attend next Tuesday night.
 
“Our Healthy Ireland strategy identified a need to engage more with the public around health promotion, including mental health, and prevention of illness. We hope that these lectures will also provide a more convivial atmosphere for people to engage with us away from the clinics and to learn more about the services here on their doorstep. We do know that cardiovascular disease remains the most common cause of death in the region and across the country. We know what people can do in lifestyle terms to minimise the risks. And we also know that improved services are leading to better outcomes for patients.” Prof Cowan said.