Dance your way to a healthier heart for Eurovision – that’s the message from health chiefs as Liverpool gears up for its biggest ever party.
The council’s Public Health team is partnering with Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and the Pumping Marvellous Foundation to encourage people enjoying EuroFestival and visiting the Eurovision Village to have mini heart health checks as part of the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Collaborative (CHaMPs) “Happy Hearts” cardiovascular disease prevention campaign.
The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is bringing its BEATie van to The Strand, near Canning Dock, offering quick blood pressure checks, pulse checks and advice around heart failure to both Liverpool residents and visitors.
The BEATie van will be open on:
- Tuesday 9 May – noon-7pm
- Thursday 11 May – noon-7pm
- Saturday 13 May – noon-7pm.
The van will be staffed by a team including Dr Rajiv Sankaranarayanan, heart failure consultant from Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, as well as teams from Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and team Pumping Marvellous.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is responsible for half of all heart attacks and strokes in the UK and it’s estimated that about 31,000 people in Liverpool have undiagnosed hypertension.
It’s recommended that all adults over 40 should have their blood pressure tested at least every five years, and once a year at least if they know that have hypertension. Blood pressure for people over 40 can be checked at many community pharmacies with a pre-booked appointment.
Like high blood pressure, having an irregular heartbeat is a common cause of strokes. One of the main types of heart arrythmia is atrial fibrillation which can affect all age groups but is more common in older people, Over 1,100 people in Liverpool are estimated to have undetected atrial fibrillation and many of these people will not experience any symptoms. Atrial fibrillation is also a leading cause of heart failure.
The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is a UK patient-led heart failure charity based in the north west.
Director of Public Health for Liverpool Professor Matthew Ashton said: “Preventing, identifying and treating cardiovascular disease, disease of the heart or blood vessels like heart attack, heart failure, and stroke, have been identified as a priority for public health and presents the biggest opportunity for the NHS to save lives over the next ten years.
“Having Eurovision in the city gives us all a reason to get up and dance our way to a healthier lifestyle, but also is an opportunity for residents and visitors to get their pulse and blood pressure checked. These things are treatable, especially if caught early, and being active can help you to prevent or manage a health condition”.
Dr Rajiv Sankaranarayanan, Heart Failure Consultant at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “The NHS is on a mission to find the ‘missing patients’ that are at heightened risk of a cardiac event due to an undetected cardiovascular diseases. This includes 300,000 people in the United Kingdom that do not know they have atrial fibrillation and around 400,000 undiagnosed people with heart failure.
“We are grateful to be part of EuroFestival to help us raise awareness with a much wider audience, and for Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital to be at the party offering health checks and keeping people dancing”.
Nick Hartshorne-Evans, CEO and founder of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation said “Some of the main causes of heart failure may be because you have high blood pressure or atrial fibrillation, an irregular pulse. A simple blood test is available to help diagnose heart failure. Pumping Marvellous wants to help educate people around the risks of undetected high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation to reduce their risks of being diagnosed with heart failure.– find out more on our website – www.pumpingmarvellous.org”
