New screening programme urges men to know their size! Men aged 65 and over will soon be invited to take part in a new screening programme The Wales Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) screening programme will offer men a quick, painless one-off check for a condition that can be life threatening if left undetected. The aorta is the main blood vessel that supplies blood to the body. Sometimes the wall of the aorta in the abdomen can become weak and stretch to form an aneurysm. When this happens there is a risk that the aorta may split or tear (rupture). An AAA can happen to anyone but is most common in men aged 65 and over who smoke, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or a history of AAA in the family AAA rarely has symptoms and if an aneurysm ruptures, it can cause serious internal bleeding. It is estimated that 80 per cent of people who suffer a ruptured AAA will die, usually before reaching hospital. Sixty five year-old men living in Wales and registered with a GP practice will be sent a letter inviting them to attend an appointment for a simple ultrasound scan of the abdominal aorta to check whether an AAA is present. Men who do not have an AAA will not need to be screened again. If an AAA is present, it could be small, medium or large. Men with small or medium aneurysms will be invited for further scans to check on the growth of their AAA. Men found to have a large AAA will be referred to their local hospital to discuss treatment to repair it. Llywela Wilson, Head of the Wales Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme, said: “We would encourage all men who receive an appointment for AAA screening to take up the offer for this quick, free and very important check of their health. “Most men with a large AAA will know nothing about it until it ruptures, and their chances of surviving will sadly be very poor.” More information on AAA screening is available from the programme website at www.aaascreening.wales. nhs.uk

So, we are all being encouraged to excercise but BBC presenter Andrew Marr blames his recent stroke on overworking and an overly vigorous exercise session on a rowing machine.  The 53-year-old said he had, to his detriment, believed the newspapers... that we must take very, very intensive exercise in short bursts for good health.

So should we now leave high-intensity training to only the youngest and fittest people? People of all ages can have a stroke, although they occur most commonly in people who are older. More than 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke each year and a quarter of them are under 65. Most of the time there will be underlying health problems like having high blood pressure. And there are simple lifestyle changes that you can make to reduce your risk of stroke. These include keeping fit by doing regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, refraining from smoking and making sure you don't drink too much alcohol.

Doctors say that regular exercise can halve your risk of stroke. About 30 minutes of activity five days a week is enough. And you do not have to do it all in one go - it is just as effective to exercise a few times a day in 10, 15 or 20-minute sessions. But in terms of intensity, erring on the side of caution might be best.

Advocates of high-intensity interval training say doing a few short bursts of exercise each week - four 30-second sprints on an exercise bike, for example - is a good way to keep fit. The idea is that pushing your body to its limit gives you a better workout. And, like any new exercise regime, if you have a pre-existing medical condition you should consult your doctor before trying it.

The Stroke Association also advise caution. They say it is important to find a balance between how hard the exercise is, how long you exercise for and how often you exercise. You will benefit more from doing regular gentle exercise for a good length of time, than exercising very vigorously for a short length of time or infrequently, they say.

Nikki Hill, director of communications, said: "Regular exercise is an important factor in stroke prevention and recovery. "We have heard anecdotally that some activities like vigorous exercise can sometimes cause blood vessels to burst. "We need more research on the underlying factors that might make that happen. We do know that high blood pressure itself is the single biggest cause of stroke, until more research is done on specific triggers we'd suggest getting your blood pressure checked and taking steps to keep it under control, exercise can help with that."

There can be warning signs that a stroke is likely. Andrew Marr says he had two minor strokes in the year before his major one, but had not noticed.

Many strokes are preceded by mini ones called transient ischaemic attacks or TIAs. These may be silent or cause only a few of the symptoms that come with a full-blown stroke - such as face or arm weakness and speech problems - and last just a few minutes, making them easy to miss. A TIA is a sign that part of your brain is not getting enough blood and you are at risk of having a stroke in the future.

Each year about 46,000 people in the UK have their first TIA. There is no way of telling whether you are having a TIA or a stroke when the symptoms first start. If you think you or someone you know is having a TIA, it is a medical emergency so call 999

The standard of care provided for people with dementia is "patchy", the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has said. Some people with the condition were not getting even basic levels of care, it added.

The warning came as NICE unveiled new standards for dementia care in England, covering issues such as housing and access to leisure services. Care services were playing "catch-up" on dementia, it said.

The guidance is the first to be produced by NICE under its new extended remit.

To date, the organisation has focused on issuing recommendations about NHS treatments and encouraging healthy lifestyles. But under the shake-up of the NHS, it now has responsibility for providing guidance on care and support provided by the likes of councils and care homes. NICE's dementia guidance includes 10 standards it wants the care sector to follow. One calls for people with dementia to live in housing that meets their needs, while another says they should be given the support they need to access leisure activities. Others focus on keeping patients involved in community life and ensuring they get access to services such as dentists and opticians.

NICE deputy chief executive Prof Gillian Leng said: "The general picture is that care is patchy.  "We know that it is really good in places but it's not consistent. My personal view is that we are all playing catch-up because the number of people with dementia has been increasing so dramatically."

Currently about 670,000 people in England are living with dementia but one in three over the age of 65 are expected to develop the condition.

George McNamara, of the Alzheimer's Society, said people with the condition were being denied the quality of life they deserved. "These standards will be a useful tool for the care sector and show what people with dementia and carers should be able to expect," he said.  "But, as they are not mandatory, it's a case of 'wait and see' as to whether this guidance will drive real change or just sit on the shelf."