00:00My name is Dr. Mohamed Al-Khalil. I'm a consultant, interventional cardiologist and a structural heart specialist.
00:06We're here today in Newcastle, Sunnybiker, to raise awareness about valvular heart disease.
00:10This is a silent disease and we're trying to raise awareness among the public and individuals here within the community
00:16about the importance of this disease and the need to seek medical attention should patients or should individuals have any symptoms.
00:23Heart specialists from Newcastle, a Funtang Hospital Trust, are raising awareness of heart valve disease,
00:30which is believed to affect over 185,000 people aged 60 and over in the Northeast.
00:36Many appear well undiagnosed.
00:38HVD can put serious strain on the heart, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke and death.
00:44The good news, a quick two-minute spethosol check can detect the disease early.
00:48So, heart valve disease is a disease that we acquired as we get older, unfortunately.
00:55It varies between both narrowing of heart valves and leaking of the heart valves.
01:00All these diseases could be treated, either with open heart surgery or with a transcatheter intervention,
01:07which is basically a minimal invasive procedure that we could perform from the groin.
01:12We reach the heart and then we put a new valve or fix the valve if it's leaking.
01:17Today, here at the retail car park in Biker, locals are getting checked out.
01:23This should be quite wise.
01:25So, I'm just going to throw this here quickly.
01:26So, you know, the purpose of today is basically to listen to your heart, check things and see whether there's any murmurs or any problem with the heart.
01:34Yes.
01:34Well, it was quite a relief to hear that there's nothing wrong with the valves of my heart,
01:41but I will still be following up on the doctor's advice and he's suggesting that there might be some pressure that the doctor could check on my heart.
01:50I think they are really ideal facilities and I was in two minds whether to do it.
01:57But as I said previously, it had crossed my mind that there might be something because of the exertion that I feel when I'm going up in planes.
02:07For people at home who have not managed to get in here today to see us, we're just trying to raise awareness of valvular heart disease.
02:17So, if there's anybody who's feeling symptomatic at all, it can be sort of symptoms such as a little bit of breathlessness on exertion.
02:24So, even when you're just trying to climb up the stairs, it's feeling a bit more breathless than you normally would or a bit, you know, more fatigued than normal.
02:31Dizzy spells when you're trying to go out for family walks or walking the dog, but I encourage you to go and get checked out.
02:37People know their own bodies, you know, when something's different.
02:41Go and get checked out.
02:42Go to your GP and a simple listen in with a stethoscope can very easily detect any valvular heart disease.
02:51You would then be referred to have an echo scan of the heart, which could then save your life.
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