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Inside Health

Factual: Health & Wellbeing

Series that demystifies health issues, bringing clarity to conflicting advice.

Series that demystifies health issues, separating fact from fiction and bringing clarity to conflicting health advice.

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Inside Health: Opt-out organ donation; your body after death; what time of day to take blood pressure medication

08/03/2017

Opt-out organ donation; your body after death; what time of day to take blood pressure medication

BBC Radio 4 - Inside Health, Opt-out organ donation; your body after death; what time of day to take blood pressure medication

Opt-out organ donation; your body after death; time of day to take blood pressure drugs.

Should opt-out organ donation be rolled out across the UK? What happens to the body after death? And a new trial investigates the best time of day to take blood pressure drugs.

More than 6500 people are currently on the national transplant waiting list, hoping for an organ to be donated which might save their lives. Many of them will wait for years and, sadly, hundreds will die before a suitable organ becomes available. The low supply of organs remains the main restriction on performing lifesaving transplant surgery. The British Medical Association believes that moving to an opt-out donation system - where people who die without expressing whether or not they wish to donate their organs will be presumed to be willing to donate - would increase donation rates and save lives. The system has been in place in Wales since December 2015 and now the BMA says it's time the rest of the UK followed the Welsh model. Dr Margaret McCartney discusses with Dr Phil Banfield, chair of the British Medical Association Welsh Council. 

An area of medicine not often discussed on Inside Health is pathology. Mark visits the morgue at St Mary's Hospital in London to speak to pathologist Mike Osborn. What happens to your body after death? What is rigor mortis? And how much do crime dramas on TV get right?

Finally, what time of day should you be taking your blood pressure medication? Millions of people take drugs to control their blood pressure and reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes. Most people will take their medications in the morning but with many heart attacks and strokes happening during nighttime hours, just when the medication might be wearing off, should we be considering evening dosing instead? A new online trial has enrolled 21,000 people and aims to find out what time of day is best to take blood pressure medications. Mark speaks to Dr Amy Rogers from the University of Dundee who is in charge of the trial.

Producer: Lorna Stewart.

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