Regular pulse checks can help prevent Stroke!

“Is your Finger on the Pulse?” is the question being asked by local Heart & Stroke Charity Croí, who has just launched a campaign to mark ‘World Heart Rhythm Awareness Week’ in association with the Saolta University Health Care Group supported by Boehringer Ingelheim.

Taking place from the 1st to the 7th June, this international campaign highlights the importance of detecting and treating abnormal heart rhythms. Atrial Fibrillation which is one of the most common irregular heart rhythms is also a major risk factor for stroke.

Speaking at the launch of this initiative which took place in Co. Mayo, Croí Nurse Ailish Houlihan outlined the importance of having your pulse checked as you get older “Many people with Atrial Fibrillation do not have any symptoms, and as a result are unaware of it. If undiagnosed, Atrial Fibrillation can lead to serious complications such as stroke and heart failure. A simple pulse check can be the first step in detecting Atrial Fibrillation. So during this campaign we are encouraging everyone over 60 years to regularly ask your doctor or nurse to check your pulse on your wrist.”

As part of ‘World Heart Rhythm Awareness Week’ Croí in collaboration with the Saolta University Health Care Group will hold a number of FREE Pulse Check screening events in the main entrance lobby of the following hospitals across the West:

• Wednesday 3rd June from 11am to 3pm in Mayo General Hospital. 

• Wednesday 3rd June from 11am to 4pm in the University Hospital, Galway.

• Thursday 4th June from 2pm to 5pm in Letterkenny General Hospital. 

• Friday 12th June from 9am to 3pm in Roscommon Hospital.

For more information about Atrial Fibrillation and to learn how to check your own pulse, visit www.croi.ie or contact Ailish Houlihan on ailish@croi.ie or phone 094-9049172.

Pictured at the Croí launch of ‘Heart Rhythm Awareness Week’ in Co. Mayo are Niamh Murtagh, Stroke Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, MGH; Ann Boland, Director of Public Health Nursing, Mayo PCCC; Ailish Houlihan, Croí Nurse; Helen Moran, Heart Failure Clinical Nurse Specialist, MGH, Dr. Tom Lee, Consultant Physician, MGH, Caroline Hogan-Boyle, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Eithne Garrick Public Health Nurse, Mayo PCCC. 

Photo: Frank Dolan.