To increase awareness of heart disease diagnosis one of Bermuda's busiest health units has announced open houses for the public.

Education about heart disease, its prevention and diagnosis is key as one out of every two Bermudians are affected by it.

So as Heart Month begins today the Cardiac Diagnostic Unit (CDU) at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital announced it will be holding two open house events on February 4 and 28 between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

June Belloquet, Clinical Leader of the CDU, said the events will help the public become aware and more comfortable with what the unit does.

She said: "As the number one cause of death for both men and women on our island and around the world, heart disease affects one in two Bermudians in their lifetime.

"The services we provide are a vital part of healthcare in our community. We invite the public to attend one of our Open House events and learn about cardiac diagnostic testing.

"Some of our patients and their relatives, as well as healthcare professionals who refer patients to us, don't always understand what is involved in diagnostic testing procedures.

"Inviting people to the unit for informal tours is a good way to educate the public about what to expect during a diagnostic test, what to wear to appointments and what to do in order to come prepared."

The busy unit performed almost 15,000 diagnostic tests last year, including electrocardiograms (ECG), 24 to 48-hour Holter monitoring, exercise stress tests, echocardiograms, pacemaker and defibrillator analysis, 24-hour automated blood pressure and electroencephalograms (EEG).

With a staff of nine people, including six technicians, the CDU deals with just about every patient in Bermuda who has undergone a major or minor cardiac incident.

In addition, a nurse educator works with patients who have been diagnosed with heart disease. Ms. Belloquet said: "We encourage anyone affected by heart disease to stop by the unit for a 'walkabout' on either February 4 or 18.

"Being informed helps patients feel more comfortable and makes diagnostic procedures less intimidating."