HEART disease clinics are being set up in every family doctor's surgery in Darlington.

Extra investment by Darlington Primary Care Group means that each general practice in the town will soon have a coronary heart disease clinic run by practice nurses.

Each surgery has been given a range of equipment for use in the heart clinics, including electrocardiographs, blood pressure machines, cardiac monitors and defibrillators.

The machines will be used to monitor patients' hearts, help diagnose heart attacks, angina and irregular heart beats, and help to treat people suffering from a suspected cardiac arrest.

Practice staff running the clinics will try to help people reduce the risk of heart disease by encouraging them to stop smoking, lose weight, eat more healthily and take more exercise.

Linda Bailes, spokeswoman for Darlington Primary Care Group, said: "The clinics will firstly be looking at patients at highest risk, including all people who already suffer from heart disease. We will then move on to develop services for other people at risk."