This project has now finished.

 

Coronary heart disease kills 110,000 people each year - yet many of these deaths are preventable. Small changes to lifestyle and diet can have a huge impact on people’s health.

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Funded by the Big Lottery Fund in association with the Daily Mail, Heart to Heart made older people more aware of the conditions that create cardiac disease and which make recovery after a cardiac episode more likely.

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The project recruited and trained older people to act as peer advisors, who coached, guided, and supported other older people to help them to manage their lifestyles – especially if they are at risk of cardiac disease. Targeted at older women and ethnic minorities in particular, Heart to Heart also conducted a range of activity to influence the way that cardiac rehabilitation services are run, so that there can be better take up of these services in the longer term.

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Delivered in partnership with Birmingham South Central Commissioning Consortium, Heart to Heart ensured that health benefits are experienced more equally across Birmingham, and that older people will be more engaged in the management of their health – and their hearts.