Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Leader for being here today. I am going to raise an issue relating to an event that both he and I attended recently in Galway at Croí House. We met with Dr. Niamh Hannon and members of the Croí House about the future of cardiovascular health in Ireland. It was a very informative session that we attended. Among those present were some as young as 22 years of age who have had a stroke. Family members were also there and we heard about the impact on people's lives when somebody has a heart attack or stroke. Clinicians were also present.

What people might not be aware of is that there are 7,500 strokes every year in Ireland and 6,500 heart attacks. Out of that, the minimum stay in hospital for any one of those people is five days. The cost for five days for the 7,500 stroke patients is €35 million. If they spend a full week in hospital, the cost is €52 million.

The emergency department in Galway has one to two admissions a day that are related to either heart or stroke. The Croí foundation spoke of the need to create a national plan to promote cardiovascular health and reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease, with a major focus on prevention. A national strategy needs to be in place by 2025, with a review and evaluation taking place.

It was amazing to learn also that at the moment in Ireland, 30,000 people are living with the consequences of stroke and 90,000 people are living with the consequences of a heart attack. All those people need access to primary care for physiotherapy, occupational therapy or speech and language therapy - proper rehabilitation to get back to the full functionality they previously had.

There is no doubt there is a need for a strategy and joined-up thinking on it, but there is also a need for a conversation as to where we are going. Given that we are spending more than €104 million between the two diseases, awareness, prevention and education have a role to play. That is the case in particular for the signs and symptoms for heart attacks in women. I was not aware of all of these. Aside from a heaviness or tightness in the chest, there is fatigue - which we always put down to work - indigestion, shortness of breath, pain in the back, nausea, light-headedness, discomfort in the neck or jaw and sweating. It is not always just a pain in one's chest.