Case Notes - Heart Attacks

Dr Mark Porter examines emergency procedures for heart attacks. He visits the Heart Attack Centre at the Barts and The London NHS Trust. The hospital has recently won awards for its emergency treatment for those with heart attacks. The Centre works with the London Ambulance Service to try and ensure that all those suffering a heart attack receive a balloon angioplasty - a balloon put into a valve in the heart - as soon as possible. It has been shown that those who receive this treatment are far more likely to survive the attack. The hospital has managed to reduce deaths from heart attack by 50 per cent. Mark looks at the other services provided by the Heart Attack Centre and finds out how soon it will be before services like this are available across the UK.