Home / Critical illness cover / - Coronary artery by-pass surgery
Background information
Every year there are an estimated 280,000 heart attacks in the UK - that's one every 2 minutes.
Less than half of those who have a heart attack die within 28 days.
Coronary Heart Disease is the most common cause of premature death.
About 28,000 coronary artery by-pass grafts are carried out each year - a 5-fold increase since 1980.
The number of coronary angioplasties has also increased, with 14,000 now being carried out annually.
Around 2.6 million people are currently suffering from coronary heart disease.
(British Heart Foundation, 2002)
In 2000, over 120,000 people died from coronary heart disease. That's around 330 deaths every day.
(Office for National Statistics, 2001)
Studies have indicated that two-thirds of men suffering their first heart attack will survive for a minimum of 5 years.
( Munich Re, 2002)
Definition
The undergoing of open heart surgery on the advice of a Consultant Cardiologist to correct narrowing or blockage of one or more coronary arteries with by-pass grafts but excluding balloon angioplasty, laser relief or any other procedures.
What does this mean?
If one or more of the coronary arteries, which supply oxygenated blood to the heart, becomes obstructed by the build up of fatty deposits angina can result and can even cause a heart attack. A coronary by-pass operation involves inserting a short length of vein, usually taken from the leg, around the narrowed artery thus restoring an adequate supply of blood to the heart.
31 July 2007 11:34:13
New findings from Cancer Research UK have revealed that the risk of cancer is increased by not just smoking and a poor diet, but by drinking heavily as well.
The charity found that drinking a pint of beer or a glass of wine every day can increase the likelihood of a person developing bowel cancer, with the danger of the disease rising concurrently as alcohol consumption increases.
Drinking around two units of alcohol per day was found to increase the chances of contracting bowel cancer by ten per cent, while the risk rose by 25 per cent for participants consuming three to four units each day.
Professor Tim Key, Cancer Research UK epidemiologist, commented: "The research shows quite clearly that the more alcohol you drink the greater your risk of bowel cancer.
"The increase in risk is not large but it is important that people understand they can reduce their risk of a number of different cancers – including bowel cancer – by cutting down on alcohol."
Nearly half a million people from ten European countries were surveyed as part of the research.
30 April 2008 17:24:01
A new bowel cancer screening programme has been launched in Lancashire
People in Oldham aged between 60 and 69 years will receive a free testing kit at home as part of the NHS bowel cancer screening programme - the results of which could affect their life insurance premiums.
They will also receive a leaflet by Cancer Research UK entitled Bowel Cancer Screening – The Facts to help them make an informed choice about whether to take part.
Once the test is complete, patients will return the kit in a pre-paid envelope to a laboratory for testing.
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer causing almost 16,100 deaths in the UK each year.
Alan Higgins, director of public health for Oldham, said "It is vital that we detect bowel cancer at an early stage as early detection and treatment saves lives. Regular bowel cancer screening can reduce the risk of dying from bowel cancer by 16 per cent."
Around one in 20 people will develop bowel cancer during their lifetime.
However, the risk increases as people get older with eight out of ten people diagnosed with bowel cancer aged over 60.
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25 June 2008 10:38:28
A growing number of people under the age of 30 are being diagnosed with emphysema, according to the British Lung Foundation.
The issue has come to light after singer Amy Winehouse was recently diagnosed with the condition.
Dr Keith Prowse, chairman of the British Lung Foundation, stated that an increasing number of people under the age of 30 "who smoke cigarettes heavily and are into recreational drugs" are being diagnosed.
However, Dr Prowse went on to explain that it is not simply an indulgent lifestyle that causes the disease and that young people can contract emphysema as a result of genetic conditions.
Emphysema is most common in people in their 40s and is part of the group of lung conditions called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Figures released by the British Lung Foundation reveal that COPD kills around 30,000 people in the UK every year.
