New Heart Monitors Have Halved Waiting List

Published on: 19 Oct, 2012
Updated on: 24 Oct, 2012

Back Row: Hayley Bollon (Dep Mgr Spirit Health Club), Doreen Boxall, Mary Barham, Jean Pankhurst, Sue Keeley, Joan Hornett, Brian Smith, Jane Standing, Holiday Inn Manager Front row: Maureen Lemin, The Mayor, Cllr Jenny Jordan, Shirley West

Five new heart monitors were presented to cardiologist Dr Chua this week by a Guildford group of British Heart Foundation fundraisers led by Shirley West.

One of the five ‘R Test Evolution 4’ monitors. They weigh just 42gms

Each monitor costs £3,000. They will be used by Dr Chua at the Royal Surrey County Hospital to assist in the diagnoses of possible heart problems in local patients. The extra monitors mean that the waiting list for a monitor is reduced from fifteen weeks to seven.

The small, light-weight monitors are designed to be worn for a week. The extended period means that any irregularity is more likely to show itself. But the monitors are not only more effective, they also allow for far more efficient analyses of results. It now takes just ten minutes at the end of the monitoring period.

Leading fund-raiser Shirley West said: “Working for your own community is, to me, all important. So when the doctors at the Royal Surrey said they needed something we decided to go and raise the money.”

The cheque for £3203.16, raised by the sponsored swim, being presented to Shirley West who led the fund raising activity by Patrick Fitzsimmons and Hayley Bollon who both work at the Spirit Health Club, in the Holiday Inn Hotel

During the presentation which took place in the presence of the Mayor of Guildford, Cllr Jenny Jordan, during an event sponsored by the Holiday Inn hotel, a cheque for over £3ooo, raised in a sponsored swim, was presented to Shirley West which brought the total raised to £15,000.

Dr Chua, Cardiologist at the Royal Surrey County Hospital

Dr Chua said: “After a lot of research into our local needs we decided on these new heart test monitors. The waiting list, up until now, has been up to fifteen weeks and, as you can imagine, if you have a heart condition fifteen weeks is a long time to wait. So, from the bottom of my heart I thank you all.”

Also demonstrated at the event by a patient of Dr Chua’s was the ‘Cardio’ clock. The clock is designed to give audio signals during heart exercise regimes to remind users of the overall timing of the exercise period and when to switch from one exercise to the next. Dr Chua who said that prevention is the best treatment for heart disease fully supports the initiative to sell the clocks.