Problem pulse

Talking of the bleeding obvious I now find that the Arrythmia Alliance have also got it in for GPs.

I have had the first of what I suspect will be a long line of people visiting me with a normal pulse – whoever developed their guidance didn’t appreciate that walking around town and being accosted by some stranger desperate to help might result in a slightly fast pulse rate.

And now I have to pick up the pieces. Why oh why do we do such things – its not as though we GPs are sitting on our backsides twiddling our thumbs. Its just so easy for someone standing outside Sainsburys to collar an unsuspecting punter and put the fear of God into them culminating with the words you need to see your GP, soon!!

Arrhytmia Alliance

If you’re still wondering what the Arrhytmia Alliance is about, rest assured it is not associated with the AA. It is simply a group of people who are keen to diagnose treatable heart rhythm problems in patients who may be entirely unaware that they have a problem.

Most people can actually do this themselves. Simply feel for your own pulse in your wrist. If its regular or speeds up a little when you breath in and slows down a little when you breath out , that’s normal.

However if your pulse rate is less than 50 beats per minute or over 110 beats per minute or your pulse rate is erratic then you may have a problem and its worth seeing us.