RD&E staff support World Heart Day
The Cardiac Rehab Team at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital have been showing their support for World Heart Day by raising awareness of the importance of keeping your heart healthy.
World Heart Day, which takes place annually on the 29th September, is a chance for people across the globe to take part in the world's biggest intervention against cardiovascular disease (CVD). Organised by the World Heart Federation (WHF), this year’s focus is on creating healthy heart environments, by ensuring that everyone has the chance to make healthy heart choices wherever they live, work and play.
In support of the global campaign, the RD&E’s Cardiac Rehab multidisciplinary team have joined the WHF’s call to take ‘healthy heart selfies’ to raise awareness of the campaign. The team shared their photos on the hospital’s official Twitter account @RDEhospital using the hashtag #heartchoices.
Dr Manish M Gandhi, Consultant Cardiologist and RD&E Cardiac Rehab Lead, said: “More people die from heart disease than from cancer. In the UK, one person has a heart attack and one person dies from heart disease or stroke every three minutes. The World Heart Day is about informing us that 80% of these deaths can be avoided by stopping smoking, eating a healthy diet, taking physical activity, and controlling alcohol intake. Lifestyle changes with blood pressure and cholesterol lowering have a far bigger impact than stents, bypass surgery and defibrillators on reducing the overall death rate from heart disease. The aim of the World Heart Federation is to reduce death from heart disease worldwide by 25% during the next 10 years.”
Pete Groves, a volunteer with the RD&E’s cardiac rehab team, appreciates the importance of living a healthy lifestyle after he suffered problems with his heart. He started volunteering with the team after he successfully completed the hospital’s cardiac rehabilitation programme in 2011. He said “I ruined my heart through lifestyle and I became very ill, so I had to make a change. I was petrified when they said I had to do exercise – I’d just had heart surgery! But I’ve enjoyed the social side of attending the clinic and the reassurance it gave me.”
The Cardiac Rehabilitaion Programme aims to promote recovery and recuperation for patients who have experienced a cardiac event such as a heart attack or heart surgery. The weekly sessions encourage patients to maintain regular exercise and lifestyle changes such as giving up smoking or changing diets.
To find out more visit www.world-heart-federation.org
