2 **^ Sunday 1 September 2019 The Sunday Telegraph
Couch potato lifestyle will
double risk of an early death
By Laura Donnelly
COUCH potatoes have twice the risk of
an early death, a major study suggests.
Scientists who tracked more than
23,000 adults for over two decades
found those with sedentary lifestyles
for the whole period saw their risk of
early death rise by 99 per cent.
The chance of a deadly heart attack
or stroke was 168 per cent higher than
that of those people who regularly did
at least two hours’ exercise a week.
But those who got fit in later life
managed to reduce their risk of dying
young by around half.
Experts said those who stayed active
throughout life fared best.
Lead researcher Dr Trine Moholdt,
of the Norwegian University of Science
and Technology in Trondheim, said:
“Our findings imply that to get the
maximum health benefits of physical
activity in terms of protection against
premature death, you need to continue
being physically active.
“You can reduce your risk by taking
up physical activity later in life, even if
you have not been active before.”
NHS guidance says all adults need
150 minutes of exercise each week. But
four in 10 older adults fail to do even 10
minutes of brisk walking a month.
Dr Moholdt said people should aim
to incorporate exercise into their daily
lives, like walking to the shops or using
the stairs.
She added: “Do activities you like
and get more movement into everyday
life. I recommend everyone to get out
of breath at least a couple of times each
week.”Surgeon doctored records
to cover up wrong operation
By Matt DrakeAN ORTHOPAEDIC surgeon falsified
records and lied to a patient after per-
forming the wrong operation on her.
Alan Norrish has been has been sus-
pended from practising for a year after
admitting to performing the incorrect
kind of knee replacement surgery in
January 2018 at the Nuffield hospital in
Cambridge.
After realising his mistake, he tried
to cover it up by amending records and
carrying out “revision” surgery six
days later. It was found he had lied in a
letter to a hospital matron about the
reason for the second operation, which
was carried out on Jan 25 2018.
But it was not until March 8 2018 that
the doctor reported the mistake to the
hospital – after failing on 11 occasions totell the patient about his error. Mr Nor-
rish referred himself to the General
Medical Council, claiming he had taken
on too much work, which contributed
to the mistake.
He told a hearing of the Medical
Practitioners Tribunal Service he was
“shocked” and “upset” when he real-
ised his mistake, the BBC said.
Nuffield Health, which runs the hos-
pital, said the surgeon was immedi-
ately suspended from practising there.
Mr Norrish was dismissed by Adden-
brooke’s Hospital in March following
an internal disciplinary hearing. He
had worked there since 2010.
Colleagues said he was “an excellent
physician”.
The tribunal ruled that his actions
amounted to serious misconduct. He
has 28 days to appeal the suspension.Strictly welcomes
same-sex pairs
on to dance floor
By Sunday Telegraph ReporterTHE first same-sex pairing could soon
appear on Strictly Come Dancing, show
bosses have confirmed.
The BBC said that it was now “com-
pletely open” to the idea, after previ-
ously saying it had “no plans” to change
the mixed-sex format.
It comes after pressure from the
show’s dancers, who were praised for
breaking down barriers with their first
same-sex dance last year.
A spokesman said: “Strictly is an in-
clusive show and we are proud to have
featured same-sex dancing among the
pro dancers in group numbers.
“We are completely open to includ-
ing same-sex pairings between our ce-
lebrities and professional dancers,
should the opportunity arise.”Micro-computer
heart implant is
‘game changer’
for NHS patients
By Laura Donnelly
HEALTH EDITOR in Paris
A BRITISH woman has been given the
world’s first in-heart micro-computer
designed to warn doctors if her condi-
tion deteriorates.
Margaret McDermott, 75, is taking
part in a clinical trial aimed at improv-
ing care for patients with heart failure.
She said the device, implanted in the
organ’s left atrium, was a “miracle” that
had transformed the quality of her life
since her surgery in July.
Experts believe that the technology
could prove “game-changing”, saving
the NHS tens of millions by keeping pa-
tients healthy.
The wireless monitor, charged re-
motely, allows doctors to track patients
with heart failure, which occurs when
the heart muscle is too weak to pump
blood around the body.
Almost one million people in the UK
suffer from the condition, the most
common reason for hospital admis-
sions among those over the age of 65.
Researchers hope the technology
could cut admissions by 40 per cent,
saving around £75 million annually.
The new device, implanted during
an operation taking less than an hour,
means that patients can be closely
monitored remotely.
The patient performs daily checks,
by placing a strap across their chest for
five minutes a day, with results auto-
matically transferred to hospital teams.
The technology alerts medics to
problems far earlier than they would
otherwise be spotted.
Mrs McDermott, a mother of seven
and grandmother of 14, from Moseley,
Birmingham, said: “Every day I wake
up and I can breathe. I was really strug-
gling, and relying on inhalers. It really
feels like a miracle.”
She added that the reassurance of
knowing the monitor was keeping an
eye on her had given her a “new lease
of life”.
She is the first of 10 patients to take
part in a UK clinical trial of the device.
Experts say the “battery-less tech-
nology”, made by Israeli firm Victori-
ous, is the most accurate form of daily
monitoring yet.
Nine patients in Germany and Italy
have also been implanted with the de-
vices, with UK trials at Queen Elizabeth
Hospital Birmingham, and Hammer-
smith Hospital, London.
Prof Francisco Leyva, consultant
cardiologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospi-
tal, said: “This new device has the po-
tential to combat three of the biggest
problems relating to heart failure dis-
ease; low patient quality of life, repeat
admissions to hospital and the astro-
nomical cost to the healthcare system
of readmissions.”
Oren Goldshtien, chief executive of
Vectorious, said: “We believe the V-
LAP monitor is a game-changer in
helping the one million people living
with heart failure in the UK take con-
trol and manage their disease.”
“Doctors will be able to react to each
individual, rather than resorting to the
guesswork and estimations that are
currently the case.
“We are very excited about our first
UK trial and would encourage existing
patients to contact the Hammersmith
and Queen Elizabeth hospitals to see if
they could be enrolled in our trial.”No smoke without fire Onlookers watch a man holding a flare during a performance of
Bivouac by Générik Vapeur. The French street arts group presented one of the headlining
shows on Friday at the Freedom Festival in Hull, which will draw to a close tonight.DANNY LAWSON / PAHandful of nuts ‘cuts risk of dying from heart disease’
By Laura Donnelly
EATING a handful of nuts at least twice
a week could cut the risk of dying from
heart disease by almost a fifth, research
has found.
Experts said they were a good source
of unsaturated fat, containing polyphe-
nols which help to prevent heart at-
tacks and strokes.
More than 5,000 adults, aged 35 and
over, with no history of heart disease,
were questioned about their diet in de-
tail, every two years. Over the 12 years
that followed, there were 751 cardio-
vascular events, including 179 deaths.
The study found that those who con-
sumed at least two portions of nuts a
week had a 17 per cent lower risk of
death from heart disease, compared
with those who only ate them once a
fortnight.
Nuts consumed included walnuts,
almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts and
seeds.
Researchers said the findings, pre-sented at the European Society of Car-
diology congress in Paris, showed a
“robust” link even when other factors,
such as exercise levels, were taken into
account.
They said that nuts appeared to con-
fer particular benefits because of the
combination of nutrients they con-
tained, including polyphenols which
reduce stress on the heart and phytos-
terols which lower cholesterol.
Guidelines from the society suggest
eating 30g of unsalted nuts every day.Dr Noushin Mohammadifard, of Isfa-
han Cardiovascular Research Institute
in Iran and the study’s author, said:
“Nuts are a good source of unsaturated
fat and contain little saturated fat. They
also have protein, minerals, vitamins,
fibre, phytosterols and polyphenols
which benefit heart health.”
He said eating raw nuts was best. He
said: “Nuts should be fresh because un-
saturated fats can become oxidised in
stale nuts, making them harmful.”
Heart disease is Britain’s biggestkiller, with deaths from heart attacks,
strokes and circulatory diseases ac-
counting for 160,000 deaths in the UK
every year.
The research examined the associa-
tion between nut consumption and the
risk of cardiovascular disease and
death in the Iranian population. A total
of 5,432 adults aged 35 and older with
no history of cardiovascular disease
were randomly selected. Participants
or family members were interviewed
every two years until 2013.‘Every day I wake up and
I can breathe. I was
struggling before and
relying on inhalers’
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appeal to IPSO at http://www.ipso.co.uk.The Telegraph, 111 Buckingham Palace
Road, London, SW1W 0DTThunderballLotto
5 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 41 | 58 | B/Ball 156 | 10 | 23 | 25 | 28 | T/Ball 1Four arrested over boy’s
attempted murderFour people have been arrested on
suspicion of attempted murder over
the stabbing of a teenage boy in north
London.
The 15-year-old victim remained in
critical condition in hospital last night.
Police were called to the scene of
the attack in Tottenham at 11.14am on
Friday after the boy was found with
stab wounds.
Two men in their early 20s, as well
as a 17-year-old boy, were arrested on
suspicion of attempted murder on
Friday evening. Another man in his
early 20s was arrested yesterday.NEWS BULLETIN
Boy, 16, to face court on
Lindsay murder chargeA 16-year-old boy has been charged
with the murder of a teaching assistant
found strangled at a cemetery.
Mother-of-two Lindsay Birbeck, 47,
went missing from her home in
Huncoat, near Accrington, Lancs, on
August 12. Her body was found in
Accrington Cemetery on August 24,
and a murder inquiry was launched.
A post-mortem showed she died as a
result of compression of the neck.
Lancashire Police said the accused
youth would appear at Blackburn
Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.Council installs red lights
as safety route for batsBat-friendly street lights that glow red
in the dark are to be installed for the
first time.
The beacons will be set up along a
stretch of the A4440 near to Warndon
Wood, Worcs, this month. They are
intended to guide the animals along a
safe route through the county.
Worcestershire County Council said
research has shown that some species
avoid areas lit by white lights, adding
that visibility for drivers and
pedestrians would not be affected.Roman mosaic one of a
kind, say archaeologistsA Roman mosaic discovered under
farmland after being buried for 1,
years is the only one of its kind in
Britain, archaeologists have said.
The piece, which depicts a mythical
chariot race for the hand of a princess,
is one of just three known mosaics of
its kind in the world.
It was discovered in the village of
Boxford in West Berks and will be
exhibited to the public next weekend
before being carefully reburied.
Archaeologist Matt Nichol, who
worked on the dig, said: “There’s a real
buzz and excitement.”Corrections and
Clarifications
Clive Wylie, Rector of All Saints’
Church Waterden (“Restoration reveals
treasures hidden in one of England’s
tiniest places of worship”, 25 Aug), is an
Anglican priest, not a Roman Catholic
as the article incorrectly stated.RELEASED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws