Merry Christmas from
Arrhythmia Alliance
AF Association
and STARS
Throughout 2017, Arrhythmia Alliances' main focus has been to ‘Identify the Undiagnosed Person’. Sadly, we are aware that around a third of people who have an arrhythmia, have yet to be diagnosed. With the launch of our new booklet ‘Identifying the Undiagnosed person’ ( here ), as well as ‘Which ECG is Best For You?’ ( here ) and campaigns such as ‘Know Your Pulse’, and our ongoing educational, information, support and awareness events, we hope to see this figure dramatically reduce.
Become a Medical Member
Support the charity close to your heart and save money throughout 2018 by becoming a Medical Member!

JUST £50.00 PER
YEAR

Included in this is you will receive discounted rates for Arrhythmia Alliance Cardiac Update Meetings and Arrhythmia Alliance Heart Rhythm Congress, automatic registration on the Heart Rhythm Specialists websites and a free pack containing samples of our resources for your practice or clinic.

Select your chosen charity to find out more and become a member today.

Highlights of the Year
Arrhythmia Alliance Heart Rhythm Congress

Arrhythmia experts from across the world met at the 12 th Arrhythmia Alliance Heart Rhythm Congress (HRC) – the UK’s biggest arrhythmia specialist event from the 1-4 October 2017 at the International Convention Centre (ICC).

The Congress attracted healthcare professionals from across the world with an interest in heart rhythm disturbances and was a huge success with 92% stating that the event fulfilled expectations and 81% already planning to book for 2018. The feedback as always has been excellent.
 
“All sessions were very well catered to the audience. The speakers were of high quality and the organisation of the congress was excellent.”

“Presentations were very interactive, educational and relevant to the daily working practices.”

“An impressive exhibition with informative, approachable and knowledgeable teams.”
 
Thank you to everyone who attended HRC2017, we hope you enjoyed the Congress and we look forward to welcoming delegates to the next HRC at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham UK on 7-10 October 2018!
Arrhythmia Alliance World Heart Rhythm Week
This year’s Arrhythmia Alliance World Heart Rhythm Week focus was ‘Identifying the Undiagnosed Person’. Following the death of Sir Roger Moore, we dedicated the week in his memory as he was a tremendous supporter of our work.

Our aim for World Heart Rhythm Week 2017 was to:
 Make one million people pulse rhythm aware
*
  Take 10,000 pulse rhythm checks
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  Identify 1,000 people with an arrhythmia
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   Support a minimum of 100 ‘Know Your Pulse' events

We surpassed our set objectives with a fantastic response from our Arrhythmia Alliance supporters in the UK and around the world. 

In the UK, over 700 Arrhythmia Alliance information packs, which included posters and information cards, were sent out to UK Hospitals, GP practices and Arrhythmia Alliance supporters, with many more distributed via our international partners. Around the world, over 1,000 Know Your Pulse activities took place globally increasing awareness of arrhythmias and the Charities. 
AF Association Global AF Aware Week
AF Association Global AF Aware Week continues to raise awareness of the most common arrhythmia – atrial fibrillation focusing on ‘Detect, Protect, Correct, Perfect’.

This year we had thousands of events take place globally with over 1,000 awareness events take place in the UK alone!
AF Association 10th Anniversary Celebration

On Thursday 23 rd November 2017, the AF Association hosted its 10 th Anniversary Celebration in Westminster, which celebrated 10 years since the charity became established to increase information, support and access to established, new or innovative treatments for Atrial Fibrillation (AF). The event was invite only to Members of Parliament, Peers, Healthcare Professionals, Members of the charities Medical Advisory Committees and a few selected patients of which 104 attended, in which two were Lords.  

In conclusion, the celebration highlighted the achievements of the AF Association, but most importantly drove the message that there is still so much that can be done.  

Please continue to support us!
All-Party Parliamentary Group
APPG-Arrhythmias

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arrhythmias (APPG-Arrhythmias) was established this year, chaired by Mike Gapes MP. The Group represents all those affected by, and involved in the care of, arrhythmias, and looks to address the issues from a diagnosis, management and service provision perspective for the benefit of patients and the NHS.
APPG-AF

The All Party Parliamentary Group on AF (APPG-AF) champions awareness of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) from within the heart of Westminster. The APPG-AF looks at a number of ways in which we can improve the treatment and diagnosis of AF and help prevent AF-related stroke. 


Healthcare Pioneers 2018
Our Healthcare Pioneers continue to be an example for medical professionals around the world, as shown in The AF Association Healthcare Pioneers Report. The Report identifies best practice in the identification, diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and is used as a benchmark to improve services and care for the patients with AF.

Items of Interest
NHS England board paper on NHS planning for 2018/19
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AF awareness video in Punjabi
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Preventing Stroke:Uneven Progress Report
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Size of the Prize: reducing heart attacks and strokes
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AF in Parliament - Health: Atrial Fibrillation and Strokes
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Saving lives and money – new tool launched to support commissioners to tackle AF
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FDA approves the first medical device for Apple Watch to warn wearers of heart arrhythmias by tracking their pulse with a personalized EKG
*
Primary-care over prescribing of rivaroxaban in patients without atrial fibrillation
Resources
Throughout 2017 we have been working very hard to update our resources. We have also published some brand new resources.

All of our resources are approved by our Medical Advisory Committee (MAC) and endorsed by the Department of Health. This ensures that the most accurate information is provided for you to share with your patients.

All of our resources can be found by clicking on your chosen charity.

Patient/Doctor Discussion Tool

This tool provides information to guide the healthcare professional-patient discussion for patients with diagnosed AF at risk of AF-related stroke. This should be used in the consultation and is not intended to replace the advice of a healthcare professional.

This patient discussion guide was compiled following a review of current guidance on patient-healthcare professional dialogue, clinical research and patient literature. The content was developed with the input from AF Association including an independent review by Trudie Lobban MBE, Founder and CEO.

Click here to view today.
Defibs Save Lives
Our Defibs Save Lives Campaign continues to grow. We have now placed over 3,000 life saving devices into communities.

We are very excited to announce that we are currently working on the Defibs Save Lives section of our website and plan to have a new and updated version go live in early 2018 so watch this space!
Outreach
Our media reach this year has been in excess of 8.5million. Getting us closer to our target for ‘arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation and syncope’ to become household words by 2020. 

Find out our social media details at the bottom!
Brand New Website
We joined with sister charities AF Association and STARS to launch our brand new international website www.heartrhythmalliance.org , with 59 international sites.
Social
STARS

  Arrhythmia Alliance

AF Association

©Arrhythmia Alliance, Registered Charity No: 1107496