Latest News

per una fundraising

As well as supporting us with their leisure wear range, members of staff for per una have also been running local fundraising initiatives. The Teeside branch recently held a Circulation Foundation customer event evening. They had a raffle with prizes including a per una hamper (made in store) and some per una fur jackets purchased buy themselves in store, along with some other gifts. They managed to raise a fantastic £1300, which will be matched by Marks and Spencer Head Office. This is great for the Foundation and hopefully, lots of other per una stores will be doing the same.

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening

Following on from awareness raising work with MPs last year and many years of campaigning, the Circulation Foundation was pleased to see the Prime Minster’s announcement of funding for aneurysm screening to be rolled out over the next few years. Much work has gone into this campaign over the last few years from both medical professionals and patients and we’re delighted to see this positive outcome.  Thank you to all those who have supported the Foundation in its endeavours. 

The Ladies Circle alternative quiz night

In October, Daryll Baker, a vascular surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital, London, and his wife Cath helped to organise the Radlett Ladies Circle alternative quiz night raising about £1300 for the Circulation Foundation. The alternative quiz involved singing, play-doh and making giraffes, and a good time was had by all! Many thanks to all those who particpated. 

 

Circulation Foundation calls for action to prevent a silent killer

Despite being the third most common cause of death for men over-65, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is little known outside the medical profession. But half these deaths would be avoided by the establishment of a cost effective and simple national screening scheme. The Circulation Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Vascular Society, called on the government to act now at an awareness raising event at the House of Commons on November 7th.

Jonothan Earnshaw, Honorary Secretary of the Vascular Society said: “For half the cost of breast cancer screening we could save as many lives, over 3000, every year. Ruptured aneurysm is a common and deeply painful way to die and, as a surgeon, I know that I have a much better chance of saving someone’s life through preventative surgery if the risk is detected than I do dealing with an emergency case.

“Based on research carried out in this country*, the US have been convinced of the benefits and this year given the go ahead for national screening – but UK patients are left waiting. AAA screening has been recommended by the independent National Screening Committee, but the Department of Health are dragging their feet on implementation.”

AAA, the third most common cause of death for over-65s, is a widening and weakening of the main artery from the heart to the abdomen. When this bursts it causes massive internal bleeding which is almost always fatal. Nearly 7000 people, most of them men, die suddenly and without symptoms each year from a condition that is difficult to detect by standard medical examinations.

Ultrasound screening all men at 65 has been proven to be accurate in identifying those at risk and referring them for planned, preventative surgery which has a much higher success rate than emergency cases – halving deaths.

Talking ahead of the event, Anne Cheetham, whose husband suffered a ruptured aneurysm said: “My husband, Roger, had no idea he had an aneurysm. He started with a very severe backache, completely out of the blue. He had been doing quite a physically demanding job in the garden the previous day, so we put it down to that at first. Roger was operated on and many complications followed, which is common after ruptured aneurysm surgery. He spent a total of six months in Hospital, two months of which were spent in intensive care.

“He has been left disabled, the house has had to have adaptations, and he is unable to drive, something he has done for 40 years. It's highly unlikely that he will work again or take up his beloved pastime of fishing. We are all extremely grateful that Roger is alive and with his family, that in itself is a miracle, but all the human suffering and financial implications could have been avoided with a simple cost effective scan.”

The MPs awareness raising event took place on November 7th. MPs including Ann Keen (under secretary for health), Howard Stoate and Michael Howard were in attendance.

This story has also been seen in the Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2896591.ece

Great South Run – 28th October 2007

In October, Sarah Hayns, Head Clinical Vascular Scientist at the Cambridge Vascular Lab, recently ran the Great South Run in Portsmouth in support of the Circulation Foundation. Below is her race report:

“It's a fast, flat and scenic course which passes many historic landmarks and, having grown up in Portsmouth, it is a route which brings back many fond memories. I first ran this race in 2004 with a time of 1:34 and in 2005 I made 1:32. Unfortunately in 2006 too much work and too little play led to erratic training and the only result was shin splints 4 weeks before the race! Despite bad weather conditions the race was fantastic with 18,500 runners taking part! Although I was on track to beat my previous time, the final 2 miles along the sea front running straight into the wind and rain was really tough so I'm not too disappointed at making 1 hour 33 minutes 2 seconds (30 seconds longer than in 2005). I still have < 90 minutes to aim for next year!”

If you still want to sponsor Sarah, you can go to www.justgiving.com/sarahhayns1

CF Christmas Cards on Sale- July 2007

It might seem a bit too early to be thinking about Christmas, but now is the time to order your Christmas cards in support of the Circulation Foundation. You can order personalised cards from Powell Publishing, by following this link. Do consider supporting the Foundation with some wonderful Christmas cards!

The CF in the news - 30th July 2007

The Circulation Foundation is campaigning for a national aneurysm screening programme for all men over the age of 65. This was recently covered by the Sunday Telegraph. If you have any questions about the screening campaign or would like to help with lobbying, please contact Terrie McCann

West Highland Way Walk - 16th-22nd June 2007

Vascular surgeon Rod Chalmers led a group of intrepid walkers on the West Highland Way to raise money for the Foundation. Though the walk is now over, you can still sponsor their endeavours by going to his online sponsorship page. To show your support, please visit: http://www.justgiving.com/RTAC. Many thanks to Rod and his team of walkers for their hard work, which has already raised over £6000 for the Foundation.

Target PAD website - June 2007

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is given a ‘leg up’ with launch of new website
Peripheral arterial disease is a serious condition which significantly increases the risk of suffering from a heart attack or stroke. Despite this, patients do not recognise PAD as a life-threatening illness and it continues to be under-managed in Primary Care.

The Target PAD* group aim to address these issues through education of patients and medical professionals and have now launched an exciting new website: www.TargetPAD.co.uk.

Patients who have been diagnosed with PAD and want to know more about the disease can browse the website and learn more about causes, stages in the development of PAD and treatment options. Healthcare professionals can log on to a dedicated section and view up to date information on Target PAD activities and latest news on the group’s campaign to get PAD recognised in the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF). Details on how to get involved, create debate and raise awareness of PAD amongst Members of Parliament are easily accessible, as are Target PAD educational materials, including a PAD primary care treatment algorithm and educational slides.

Professor Gerry Stansby, co-chair of the Target PAD group, said: “The website is very user-friendly and simple to navigate, with clear sections directing browsers to patient or professional pages. Target PAD is very excited to have such an excellent resource. It will help us share materials with other professionals and help patients learn more about this common condition, which is currently not receiving the health service resource it deserves.”

Dr George Kassianos, a GP from Bracknell with a special interest in cardiovascular disease, remarked: “When PAD causes symptoms, patients may attribute their leg pain to ageing or ‘back pain’ and generally delay presenting to the GP. There is an urgent need to raise awareness about this killer disease among the public but also among us, clinicians. We under-diagnose and under-treat PAD, and perhaps we do not appreciate the mortality from PAD. This website provides an excellent forum to learn about the seriousness of PAD and the lifestyle changes that patients can make to prevent its progression.

The Circulation Foundation is an operating division of the Vascular Society, a charitable company limited by guarantee, company number 5060866 and registered charity number 1102769.
The Circulation Foundation is unable to respond to specific requests for medical advice