An ordinary meeting of the society was held on March 1st 2006. The President was in the chair. A minutes silence was held to commemorate two former members of the society who had died: Dr Austin Tate and Mr Tom Rowntree. The minutes were then read and approved. The President then introduced the speaker Dr Andrew Bishop, consultant cardiologist at the North Hampshire Hospital and the Brompton Hospital. The subject was ‘thoughts on cardiology’, a change from the published title.
He started uncompromisingly stating that most people who have a heart attack will die of it. Therefore we must try to prevent them. Statins are said to help he said but they only reduce the numbers by a small amount and they can’t save a life. Unstable angina patients get more benefit from statins and actually save some lives. Best is to identify those at risk from sudden death and implant a defibrillator. An Australian working group has shown this to be very effective but at a cost of £25,000 a go.
The actual treatment of MI has entered a new era. A cocktail of aspirin, clopidogrel and clexane will open a blocked artery in 90% cases. The problem is how long it takes for patients to get to treatment: best in 1st hour, no help after 12. Average time in UK is 6 hours. Primary angioplasty has been shown to be very successful but the slowness and inflexibility if the NHS has stopped widespread introduction of this in the UK. This lack of access decided them in Basingstoke to set up their own service. Dr Bishop described the difficulties with persuading the authorities to back it and eventually they were given £1 million to get it going. Local treatment has saved lives. He and his cardiology colleague is on duty for the service every other night.
Concerning primary prevention he was far more cautious. He regarded the benefits of statins in this case as tiny and he was very anxious about health as opposed to disease. He felt doctors should not get involved in people who are not ill and the profession is riding for a fall if we do.
The President then reminded the members that the AGM was to take place on 5th April and that any nominations for officers and committee posts should be submitted. He also announced that Dr Tom Wade-West was retiring from the post of archivist should any member be interested in the position. There being no other business the meeting was closed at 10 pm.