This is the first time that a heart failure screening campaign has been organized in France. At the initiative of the French Society of Cardiology, it takes place on Tuesday November 19 at the Toulouse University Hospital, then in around ten other cities during the month of December. In all, 25 hospitals and clinics have carried out or will carry out tests to detect this pathology which affects 2 million people and causes 70,000 deaths per year in France. Heart failure can be managed if detected in time.
In Paris, teams from Saint-Joseph hospital welcome volunteers in the entrance hall to carry out screenings. “Hello Sir, are you feeling unusually tired?“, asks cardiologist Annabel Jagu to Frédéric, a 55-year-old man she sees. “Yes, a little“, he answers. To identify heart failure, there are signs summarized by an EPOF formula: for Shortness of breath, Weight gain, Edema and Fatigue. After the interview, Frédéric has a drop of blood taken from the fingertip.
Around 10 min, a test with rapid results
The teams are using a new device that detects the presence of a hormone released into the blood when the heart works too much. An essential tool for cardiologist Annabel Jagu. “Doctors have a hard time diagnosing this disease and patients have a hard time diagnosing themselves because fatigue, you might say, I didn’t sleep well the night before. The weight gain, you can say, I ate a little too much the last few days. Edema in the legs could be venous insufficiency. The blows, I may have bronchitis, explains the cardiologist. So when do I think of the heart in this case? It’s very difficult“.
The result is quick, around 10 minutes and for Frédéric, it’s all good: “the result is negative“For Marie, on the other hand, the test is positive. This 69-year-old lady, very petite, is taken behind a screen to see the cardiologist. “This does not mean that you necessarily have heart failure, but it alerts us and requires seeing a cardiologist, doing an electrocardiogram and also measuring NT-proBNP. It is this marker that you tested, but this time by blood“, explains Annabel Jagu.
Sport, less salt in the diet… “There are treatments”
Marie goes back upstairs to do her analysis in the hospital laboratory; if her heart failure is confirmed, she will have to undergo treatment. “We diagnose because we have solutions, assure la cardiologist Annabel Jagu. There are treatments, physical activity is essential. When you have heart failure, you have to be careful with salt“. Stop putting salt on your plate and start doing sports, walking or cycling, weigh yourself regularly and follow your treatment carefully, this is what is recommended in cases of heart failure.
A report by Anne-Laure Dagnet, edited by Diane Warin.
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