From Jeremy Davies
Heart disease sufferers everywhere will say “all contributions gratefully accepted” to the news of the worms that clear arteries. But, as always, there is a problem (5 October, p 19).
We have come a long way in treatment, but we lag when it comes to diagnosis. The condition is largely silent, with only the subtlest of warning signs (irascibility being one), and the heart attack is usually the first you know about it. In Britain, mass screening has long been ruled out by the NHS, so we need a cheap, coin-slot machine in pharmacists – a medical “I speak your state” machine that could give early warning.
The first cardiac event gets rid of some 30 per cent of those affected on the spot, and leaves another 10 per cent with serious disablement. Too late to put worms in, I’m afraid.
Brynsiencyn, Anglesey, UK
