Dr Brian Iddon MP meets Monty Panesar to raise awareness of Heart Health

Dr Brian Iddon last week met with England bowler Monty Panesar, who was at the House of Commons to raise awareness of heart health and the importance of early detection of cardio vascular disease (CVD).  The event was organised by leading community pharmacy chain, Lloydspharmacy and was attended by over 60 MPs and Lords.

Dr Iddon heard how Lloydspharmacy – which has been offering free diabetes testing for almost 5 years – is making real in-roads in the detection of CVD through its new Cholesterol and Heart Check, and about H-E-A-R-T UK’s Redlaces campaign which is designed to prompt people to look at their family’s heart history.

Dr Iddon said,

“There are millions of people in the UK who are at risk of developing cardio vascular disease within the next ten years.  Screening tests such as Lloydspharmacy’s Cholesterol and Heart Check are therefore increasingly important in identifying those most at risk; allowing them to minimise their chances of CVD by making lifestyle changes or, where necessary, seeking treatment at an early stage.

If my constituents are able to take advantage of free screening tests like this that are available within the local community, it will clearly have beneficial consequences on their health as well as an impact on local health services.”

Andy Murdock, Lloydspharmacy’s Pharmacy Director commented,

“Lloydspharmacy offers a range of services geared towards disease prevention and management, of which the Cholesterol and Heart Check is our most recent.   We were delighted that Dr Iddon attended the event to hear about our services and more widely the role that pharmacy can play in improving access and enhancing public health”

Cathy Ratcliffe of H-E-A-R-T UK said

“H-E-A-R-T UK welcomes initiatives which provide greater access to cholesterol testing as part of high quality heart risk assessment. Helping people to better understand their own heart health allows preventative measures to be taken to avoid the trauma of unnecessary and untimely illness and death.”

1. Lloydspharmacy is the largest community pharmacy chain in the UK, with 1680 pharmacies located nationwide www.lloydspharmacy.com

2. Lloydspharmacy’s Cholesterol and Heart Check consists of cholesterol, (Total and HDL (good)) and, blood pressure and lifestyle assessment measurements. Lloydspharmacy has won a number of awards for the services they offer and to date, has screened over one million people for diabetes and assessed the blood pressure of 800,000 individuals.