Quick, easy checks could prevent fatal heart attacks

Quick and easy checks could prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks and strokes by identifying people who suffer from a "silent killer", it was revealed here Monday. Millions of Britons are unaware they have the "timebomb problem", experts said. Filling out a simple lifestyle checklist could save lives and cut the cost to the state-funded National Health Service here, the Daily Express newspaper repotted. Research has found that the public does not know how to identify the warning signs of an irregular heartbeat. Even though the condition, also known as arrhythmia, affects more than two million Britons, a survey has found that the majority are only aware of a third of the symptoms. An expert said it was "imperative" the public are better informed. Dr Matt Fay, a GP who has a special interest in cardiology and is a clinical leader for the health improvement in heart and stroke, said, "Strokes caused by an irregular heartbeat are all too often debilitating, devastating, and sometimes fatal. "It is imperative that the public are better informed about the warning signs to ensure that these terrible consequences can be averted".