Tag Archives: community health services

Introduction Palpitations are a common reason for presentation to the emergency department (ED),1,2 and can be extremely concerning to the patient and doctor. In the ED, clinical history, examination and basic investigations (including an electrocardiogram [ECG]) at the time of presentation often cannot elicit the cause for the symptoms. After ensuring that there is no acute rhythm disturbance necessitating a hospital admission, patients are routinely discharged back to their primary care doctor with advice for referral to a cardiology outpatient service for prolonged ECG recording and echocardiogram, as per National Institute for Health and

Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in deprived communities.1 Community or primary care based vascular risk assessment programmes are being introduced in England,2 Scotland and Wales, and are becoming central to USA health reform plans.3 However, the evidence base for these programmes is still emerging.4 The World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that better use of existing preventative measures could reduce the global burden of disease by as much as 70%5 based on some evidence from CVD prevention interventions that target risk factor management.6-8 However, the most effective