Inside Health Folgen

Dawn had a heart attack but 'powered through' making the Christmas dinner before seeking help - because she put her symptoms down to anxiety and backache.Her interventional cardiologist in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Professor Vijay Kunadian, sees many women like her who aren't seen quickly enough or given the right medication to improve their chances of survival. We hear about research which reveals that women are much more likely to die of a heart attack than men because of delays and lack of treatment. Learning the piano can help to improve the way our brains process audible and visual information - a task we carry out effortlessly when looking and listening as we do things like cross the road safely or chat with friends. Dr Karin Petroni explains how even just a few microseconds in processing speed can make a difference - so she's going to carry on playing drums. James Gallagher's piano version of Giuseppe Verdi's La donna è mobile/When the saints go marching in (trad) arranged by Nancy Litten/Kenneth Bartels (ABRSM)

James Gallagher asks whether the next pandemic might be an invasive fungi? Most people think of athlete's foot or fungal toe nails but the World Health Organisation recently issued the first ever list of life threatening fungi. James hears stories of hospitals being shut down, a ruined honeymoon and fungal infections that consume human tissue leaving terrible disfigurement. Add to that ‘The Last of Us’ a hit video game turned new TV series where a parasitic fungus manipulating the brains of ants has jumped to people. Sounds fanciful but while this particular fungus couldn’t cross from ants to humans, Dr Neil Stone explains why invasive fungal infections are on the rise and a potential pandemic should not be dismissed. Producer, Erika Wright

The rise of antibiotic resistance means that we need alternatives to fight infections - and some healthcare professionals are turning to maggot therapy to help clean up wounds. They might be treating people living with diabetes who can experience a loss of sensation in their feet because of high blood sugar levels. Damage to their blood vessels can also slow down healing. Melanie Rix Taylor from Swansea has type 1 diabetes and had a quarter of her foot amputated because of an infection. When the skin around the wound started to die she was offered maggot therapy. After just a few days the larvae placed on her foot in a small bag - a bit like a teabag - digested the dead skin, helping to promote healing. Her Podiatrist at Morriston hospital Ros Thomas explains how she's used maggots hundreds of times, with great success. The larvae of the greenbottle fly species Lucilia sericata are supplied to the NHS on prescription with an average cost of £200-£300 from BioMonde in Bridgend. James visits their fly room with entomologist Micah Flores, helping him to collect some of the fly eggs which are then thoroughly cleaned and prepared so they can then be used on patients. As well as consuming dead tissue, the larvae also produce anti-microbial secretions and help to promote healing. Professor Yamni Nigam from Swansea University - who's advised television programmes like Casualty about storylines on maggot therapy - is a big fan of the creatures which have a long history of being medically useful, long before scientists found the scientific proof to support their use. She wants to help people to get over their initial disgust so that they can be used more widely, instead of as a last resort. Photo credit: Maggot/BioMonde