The Big Blue Bus is coming to Bristol to raise awareness for heart valve disease

The Big Blue Bus is coming to Bristol to raise awareness for heart valve disease

Posted on: 04 Jul 2023

Raising awareness amongst the UK population and promoting the need for stethoscope checks by GPs, the Valve for Life and The Your Heart Matters bus will be dropping by Bristol tomorrow – Wednesday 5 September.

 

Located at The Centre Promenade (near the cenotaph), the bus will be offering five-minute stethoscope checks, a quick and simple way to get checked for heart valve disease. Find out more about the Your Heart Matters Bus and the ‘Valve For Life Bus Tour’, here.

 

 

In Bristol, 30% of cardiac activity is dedicated to repairing and replacing heart valves with an estimated 300,000 UK residents living with severe aortic stenosis – the most common form of heart disease.

 

The symptoms of heart valve disease may not be obvious with telling signs including breathlessness, chest pains and even feelings of weariness and slowing down. However, conditions including severe aortic stenosis, the most common heart valve disease for over 65s, are linked to high fatality rates and require urgent medical attention.

 

Indeed, cardiology experts believe there is a ticking time bomb of undiagnosed cases, while cardiac clinicians have seen a worrying reduction in primary care referrals for heart disease since the pandemic. 

Speaking about the bus tour, Dr Stephen Dorman (a Consultant Cardiologist based at the Bristol Heart Institute, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust), said: “The buses have helped educate the nation on the symptoms of heart valve disease. 

 

It has shone a spotlight on the condition, improved people's understanding of it and saved many lives. Hopefully, we will raise more awareness to the people of Bristol this week.”

 

So far, 2,000 patients have visited the bus and astonishingly, a cardiac condition was detected in 10 per cent of people who had the stethoscope check. Early detection of heart conditions is crucial as not all patients show symptoms, and signs can often be confused with ageing or decreased fitness. 

 

 

The Your Heart Matters bus has successfully diagnosed approximately 1 in 10 patients with previously undetected heart conditions, informing them they need treatment. 

 

The Valve for Life and The Your Heart Matters bus will stop at The Centre Promenade, Bristol tomorrow (Wednesday 5 September). Find out more about the tour here.

Read more:

 

Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.