THREE new nurses are providing specialist care to Worcestershire heart attack sufferers to boost health services in the county.

On Tuesday, the nurse specialists, funded with the help of the British Heart Foundation, took up their posts providing care at the homes of patients with chronic heart failure in South Worcestershire.

The nurses - Angie Connell, who will cover the Wychavon area, Nicky Carlisle, who will work in Worcester and Droitwich, and Jacqui Maciejewski, who will cover Malvern - will be in post for at least three years.

They will work with cardiac consultants at Worcestershire Royal Hospital and county GPs to provide specialist support.

Ms Connell said: "Our role is to improve the quality of life and long-term survival of patients with heart failure, and to reduce their re-admission to hospital by managing their care at home.

"We can achieve this by encouraging patients to take exercise, offering advice and reassurance and ensuring that they are taking the most appropriate medication."

She said heart failure is often caused by ischaemic heart disease, high blood pressure, valvular disease or alcohol abuse, and accounts for five per cent of all hospital admissions.

Many heart attack victims have to be re-admitted to hospital within the first three months of their attack, she added.

"Working in the community will hopefully help to reduce this," said Ms Connell

Head of Cardiac Care at the BHF Jackie Lodge, said the nurses were three of 19 whom the charity is sponsoring across the UK.

"The feedback from patients about our specialist nurses has been so positive and sometimes, very moving," she said.

"Research shows our nurses have provided a lifeline for many people and the fact we're now able to fund more posts - including these new posts in South Worcestershire - means we can make a real difference to the quality of life of thousands of heart failure patients."