Friday 13 November 2009

Making a difference in Cookstown,
Northern Ireland

We've recently launched a huge £9 million programme called Hearty Lives, and we're using the money to help people in isolated or deprived areas to look after their hearts.

One of the first places on our long list was Cookstown in County Tyrone, NI. This lovely picturesque town nonetheless suffers from the third highest premature death rate from heart disease in Northern Ireland, so we're setting up an innovative £200,000 heart health programme for them.

We'll be concentrating first on the parts of Cookstown where people are most likely to die early from heart disease. We've got a nurse educator on board, who's going to visit community groups and workplaces, like local meat factory Vion, to give free advice and support.

We're also going to train up local people with emergency life saving skills, and helping heart patients get access to cardiac rehabilitation, which can dramatically improve quality of life!

Hearty Lives is already doing life-saving work in Hastings, Dundee and Newham, and we're all set to help bring help to even more places in real need of better heart health. Keep an eye out next week, when we'll be announcing our next project!

Friday 6 November 2009

Are you ready to see Red?

Get set to go Red for Heart in 2010 - get everything you need in our
free fundraising packs (that's it on the right).

Plus, our new Red for Heart Facebook fan page is now open for business!

It's a great place to start meeting and talking with other fundraisers about what you'll be up to for National Wear Red Day on 26 February.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Latest from Leanne's blog

"When I woke I was not a happy lady. Apparently I threatened to sue anyone and everyone around me, including a poor student nurse who had no idea what she had done wrong. But I blame that on the lawyer in me, I must have been dreaming about my degree - which is a bit sad..."

Catch up with the latest post from our young heart patient Leanne (pictured above) who's just had the heart valve operation she's been waiting for and writing about for us.

Find out how it went, and how she's feeling now on our sister site for young people yheart.net