What my teachers need to know?
Its important that you treat a young person with a heart problem normally. Don’t wrap them up in cotton wool. They will be able to do more than you realise.
Find out about what is wrong with their heart and how it affects them. Contact the heart centre looking after them and ask to speak to the “Cardiac Liaison Nurse”. They may be able to arrange a school visit where you can discuss things in more detail.
If the young person is cared for at Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital Alder Hey Click here to contact a member of the Cardiac Liaison Team
If the young person is cared for at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital click here to contact a member of the Cardiac Liaison Team
Find out what they can do P.E. wise. Some young people will have no restrictions when it comes to P.E ., in fact most young people can get involved in P.E. as long as they can rest when they feel tired. Endurance tests like the “ bleep” test or long distance running such as cross country running is not appropriate in some cases as it forces the young person to go beyond their comfort zone. There may be times when exercise is severely restricted – particularly if there is a problem with left side of the heart.
Remember exercise is important for young people with heart problems as well. You just need to gauge it to an appropriate level.
Some young people will be taking a drug called warfarin which thins the blood slightly. They should not be involved in contact sports or where there is a risk of injury. Always tell their parents if there has been an incident in school where there may be a risk of internal bleeding, e.g. a bump to the head.
Some young people look a bit “blue” particularly in cold weather or when they have pushed them selves too far.
Consider allowing them to stay indoors on extremely cold days. Very hot weather may be poorly tolerated as well.
Consider how they will get around school. Does your school have lots of flights of stairs? Can they have access to a lift?
Can they have access to a locker so they don’t have to lug heavy bags around all day?
Some young people will have regular periods when they are not in school. This may be due to clinic appointments, when they need further investigations or they may have had a procedure or an operation. Great care will be needed to ensure that they don't fall behind with any work particularly if they are doing their GCSE's, AS or A2's.
Consider working with your school nurse to develop a health care plan. Involve their parents and most of all involve the young person!
Consider what you should do if they become unwell in school – include this in your health care plan and make sure all staff have seen and read it.
