HEART attack victims across North Yorkshire have received a major boost - thanks to the National Lottery.

Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service is being provided with 50 extra ECG monitors with defibrillators, which are used to treat heart patients.

The equipment has been provided through the lottery's New Opportunities Fund, which is investing £10 million across the UK. ECG machines are a vital part of the assessment of heart attack patients because they measure heart rhythm and any damage to the heart.

Paramedics use this vital information to decide whether the patient needs the drugs to be administered on board the ambulance or at the hospital.

The state-of-the-art equipment transmits information to specialist heart teams at local hospitals to alert them of the patient's condition - ensuring that patients receive the quickest treatment possible.

The programme complements the Government's health strategy and is part of the Fund's £300 million New Opportunities for Health programme through which in England £89.5 million is set aside for diagnostic equipment.

Updated: 12:00 Wednesday, May 08, 2002