LAST week the Shane Warne Legacy Heart Screen team rolled into Swan Hill, setting up camp at Swan Hill Aquatic & Recreation Centre for two days.
The team, consisting of two pharmacists and a co-ordinator, are spending four weeks in the Mallee screening people who might have undiagnosed heart conditions.
Set up in the wake of the early death of cricketing legend Shane Warne due to a heart attack and an upsurge in interest in heart attacks and heart disease, the brief assessments lead to a 45 per cent referral rate to GPs for further assessment.
Taking a snapshot of blood pressure, heart rate, body metrics and a finger-prick blood test, the screening sessions are designed to test some of the indicators that may contribute to heart disease.
If there are signs that a participant exhibits any of the symptoms of heart disease they are referred to a specialist for further investigations.
Co-ordinator Andrea Alexander said there were many people in the community who were undiagnosed and might not know they had high blood pressure and might not be under a doctor’s care.
“It is really to highlight some of the factors and then refer them to a doctor or a specialist,” Ms Alexander said.
“The test itself takes between seven to 15 minutes.
“We do a blood test and look at cholesterol, blood pressure and a few other things.
“We have had a really great response so far and we are running at capacity, which is fantastic.
“There were people lined up before we arrived and there is a lot of awareness around the progra””.
Operating from 9am to 4pm on Friday and Saturday, pharmacist Michael Alexander said the target audience for the screening was the 25-to-50-year age bracket.
“We have been getting numbers double to what we usually see,” Mr Alexander said.
