Tudor Lodge Surgery
High cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking are the biggest causes of heart attacks and strokes. Most people feel nothing until something goes wrong. The good news is that all three can be checked easily, and there is a lot you can do about them.
Do you know the difference between a heart attack and a cardiac arrest? A heart attack is not always obvious, and can happen with no chest pain. If in doubt, call 999.
Learn more here ↓Where to start
Choose a topic to find out more, including how your kidneys are linked to your heart. If we have sent you a link about one of these, that page has everything you need.
Too much “bad” (LDL) cholesterol builds up inside your arteries. Keeping it low helps blood flow freely to your heart and brain.
What your result meansHigh blood pressure strains your heart and blood vessels. Keeping it in a healthy range protects your heart, brain and kidneys.
Check your averageYour heart needs a clear, steady blood supply to stay strong.
Eating well, moving more, not smoking and cutting down on alcohol all help keep your heart and arteries healthy.
Eating well and getting activeTake your medicines as prescribed, even when you feel well, and have regular checks so you know your numbers.
Repeat prescriptionsCholesterol
Extra cholesterol travels around in your blood.
It sticks to the artery walls, making them narrower.
A clot can form and stop blood getting through.
Without blood, part of the heart or brain can be damaged.
Smoking
Smoking is not only a risk for your lungs. It is one of the main causes of heart attacks and strokes, because of what it does to your blood and arteries.
Chemicals in smoke injure the lining of your arteries, so cholesterol sticks more easily and plaque builds up faster.
Your blood is more likely to form clots, which can block a narrowed artery to the heart or brain.
Carbon monoxide from smoke takes the place of oxygen, so your heart has to work harder to keep your body going.
Nicotine makes your heart beat faster and your blood pressure rise, adding extra strain every day.
Stopping helps at any age. Your risk of heart attack and stroke starts to fall soon after you quit.
Know your numbers
40–74
If you are aged 40 to 74 and do not already have heart disease, diabetes or kidney disease, you can have a free check every 5 years. It looks at your blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and your risk of heart attack and stroke.
No booking
Our patient pod is available for you to use without booking, from 8am until 6.30pm. It is in a quiet room behind reception, and the receptionist can direct you to it. Your results go straight into your medical record, so we can see them.
Red flags
Many people expect a heart attack to look like it does on television: someone clutching their chest and collapsing. That is usually a cardiac arrest. A heart attack is often not obvious. You may still be walking around and talking, you may have no chest pain at all, and the symptoms can come and go over hours or even days.
Call 999 straight away.
Call 999, start CPR and use a defibrillator. The 999 call handler will talk you through it and tell you where the nearest defibrillator is.
You can have a heart attack without any chest pain at all. This is more common in women, older people and people with diabetes.
If you have any of these symptoms, please do not book a GP appointment or come to the surgery. It is not safe, and it delays the treatment you may need.
When the heart is damaged, it slowly releases certain proteins into your blood. Only the hospital can test for these quickly. We cannot do this test at the surgery.
An ECG measures the electrical activity of your heart. In an emergency it needs to be done, read and acted on straight away, alongside the blood test.
The sooner a blocked artery is treated, the less damage there is to the heart. Seeing a GP first only adds delay.
We know it is frustrating to be told to go to A&E, and that waits can be long. Please do not risk it by trying to see a GP first. Most of the time it will not be your heart, and we do not want to frighten you. We simply want to make sure you are safe and get the right diagnosis and treatment.
If you think you are having a heart attack, call 999. Do not drive yourself to hospital.
Lifesaving equipment
We now have a public access defibrillator on the main wall at the front of the surgery, between the pharmacy hatch and the back door by the car park, at 3 Nithsdale Road, Weston-super-Mare BS23 4JP. It is registered on The Circuit, the national defibrillator network, so 999 call handlers can direct people to it.
In an emergency, always call 999 first. Our clinical team needs to stay with patients in the building, so the 999 service, the public defibrillator and the ambulance crew are the quickest way to get help to someone who has collapsed.
A few months ago, a member of the public dashed into the surgery and asked for our defibrillator. Our team sprang into action, grabbed our crash trolley (which holds the defibrillator, oxygen and other emergency equipment) and went out of the front door, expecting to find someone in difficulty just outside. In fact, the poorly person was a couple of streets away, in their own home. Thankfully they were fine in the end, and the person who came to us for help had acted quickly: when the 999 service asked if they knew where a defibrillator was, they said yes and ran round to us.
When we looked back at what happened, we realised that people will naturally come to a GP surgery for help. With hindsight we should not have taken our emergency equipment out of the building, but we could not stand by and not help either. The best answer was a public defibrillator outside the building, registered on The Circuit, so the 999 service could direct people straight to it.
We approached Donate for Defib WsM, who work with Great Western Air Ambulance Charity and AMS Electrical South West. All we needed to do was raise £2,000 for the equipment. AMS Electrical would fit it, and Donate for Defib and the air ambulance charity would make sure it was set up correctly and added to The Circuit.
We remembered that one of our patients had once asked if he could make a donation to the surgery, as thanks for the care he had received. So we very cheekily asked whether he might donate towards this goal, and he immediately said he would pay for the whole defibrillator.
Before we knew it, the machine had been delivered, AMS Electrical had fitted it as part of their charitable work, and it was set up and ready for use. The only thing still to come is the plaque for the wall.
It is amazing that an incident in which essential equipment left the building has turned into a lasting legacy for local people who may one day need it.
Our heartfelt thanks to Donate for Defib WsM, Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, AMS Electrical South West and, above all, the patient who funded the defibrillator.
Keeping your cholesterol and blood pressure under control and being smoke-free slows down the build-up in your arteries and reduces your chance of having a heart attack or stroke. It is never too late to start.
Based on information from the NHS and the British Heart Foundation. General information for our patients; it does not replace advice about your own care.
Did you know?
Alcohol can raise blood pressure, add hidden calories, upset blood sugar and strain your liver and kidneys. That pint could have as many calories as a cheeseburger!