Health & Wellbeing

Colors: Purple Color
Colors: Purple Color

Stark differences in access to new medicines to reduce the risk of strokes in people with the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation (AF) are revealed in a new report from the Atrial Fibrillation Association. The chance of receiving the newer treatments varies 16-fold across England, the report says. In one part of England 69% of patients receive the newer treatments – in another part just 4% are prescribed them.

Asthma UK is urging people with asthma to be vigilant in winter as data shows the number of people who die because of an asthma attack peaks in January and remains high in February and March. Data from the Office for National Statistics highlights that asthma is the cause of proportionately more excess winter deaths than other conditions and respiratory diseases were the underlying cause of death in more than a third of all excess winter deaths in 2014/15.

With flu cases on the rise, people in "at risk" groups are being reminded that they can still get a free flu vaccination. While symptoms of flu are generally unpleasant, it can lead to more serious complications like middle ear infections in children and pneumonia or bronchitis for those with underlying health conditions. Every year, tens of thousands of people are hospitalised because of flu, and in some cases it can be fatal.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital is encouraging fearless fundraisers to take on its highest ever indoor abseil to raise vital funds for the charity. The sponsored plunge, which will take place on Saturday 5 March at the One Snow Hill building near to the hospital, will offer plucky participants the chance to abseil from the office’s 12th floor at 150ft – a massive 30ft more than the last abseil at One Snow Hill.

Kale juice, faddy diet plans and Lycra are all off the menu as a new no-nonsense fitness class reaches Birmingham this January.  A new fitness session has been devised by Kwik Fit technicians and personal trainer Mikah Simpson, using only car and van tyres which are readily available at centres up and down the country. The stripped down, no-frills exercise regime is being launched by the car servicing giant, with initial sessions available from their Halesowen centre billed as ‘Fit Kwik’.

As the Met Office issues a level-2 cold weather alert, older people’s charity, Independent Age, has issued a warning to older people, their families and carers to take extra care during this week’s cold snap. It’s also providing a free advice leaflet on how to stay well in winter, called Being Winter Wise. Last year, the ONS found that an estimated 36,300 excess winter deaths occurred in England and Wales in 2014/15 among people aged 75 and over.

Around 36% of year six children in the West Midlands are obese or overweight, according to latest statistics. Carrying excess weight into adulthood increases the risk of developing heart disease in later life. The worrying figures mean there are around 23,500 children in the West Midlands leaving primary school obese or overweight. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is today calling for a ban on all junk food TV advertising before 9pm, as part of the Government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy, to help improve children’s health.

As ‘Blue Monday’ looms, a national charity is encouraging people to get walking to keep the blues at bay. ‘Blue Monday’, so called because it’s thought to be the most depressing day of the year taking into account weather, debt levels and time since Christmas, occurs on the third Monday of January, this year falling on Monday 18 January. Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking is encouraging people to get walking to beat the blues.

Wolverhampton's WV Active leisure centres are celebrating their first anniversary with a day of free exercise classes for adults and special Kids Clubs for children. Super Saturday 3 takes place this Saturday (16 January 2016) with people invited to try free classes run by world-leading fitness phenomenon Les Mills. WV Active-Aldersley is offering BodyAttack sessions at 9am and 11am and RPM at 10am, WV Active Bilston Bert-Williams has BodyPump at 8.30am and 10.30am and RPM at 9.30am, while WV Active Central has BodyPump at 11am.

Another Blue Monday, another tidal wave of winter sun holidays offered as an answer to the January blues, with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a depressive illness thought to be triggered by a lack of sunlight, affecting around two million people in the UK. Yet, for those tackling depression and anxiety (when every Monday is a Blue Monday) a dose of winter sun offers no long term solution, with the same struggles waiting upon return home.

Health chiefs in Wolverhampton have welcomed the publication of new government guidelines on safe levels of alcohol consumption. The guidelines from the UK's Chief Medical Officers recommend that men and women who drink regularly should consume no more than 14 units a week – the equivalent of six pints of beer or seven standard glasses of wine. Pregnant women should not drink at all.

Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, spoke at a rally and march against student bursary cuts last weekend. In advance of the actions, Bennett, who will march alongside nurses, midwives and allied healthcare professionals, said: “The government’s plans to scrap the National Health Service bursary and replace it with loans is yet another assault on our ailing health service. Nurses and midwifes form the backbone of the NHS and funding for them to train to care must be protected."

People in Wolverhampton are being urged to make one small lifestyle change to improve their health and wellbeing this January. JanUary 2016, the new name for National Obesity Awareness Week, takes place from Monday 11 January to Sunday 17 January and seeks to highlight simple steps people can take to live a healthier lifestyle.

New research by Alzheimer’s Society shows that 38% of people in the West Midlands mistakenly think that once a person with dementia stops recognising loved ones, they don’t benefit that much from spending time with them. In a separate survey of 300 people affected by dementia, the charity also found that 64% of those living with the condition felt isolated from friends and family following a diagnosis.

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