Call to 'know your numbers' gets to the heart of CVD campaign

Health Innovation North West Coast is supporting this week’s Know Your Numbers initiative, a week-long (6th-12th September 2021) campaign to raise awareness of high blood pressure and the wider issue of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

CVD, which includes heart attacks and strokes, causes a quarter of all deaths in the UK and is of significant concern in the North West. Nationally it has been identified as the single biggest area where the NHS can save lives over the next 10 years.

Jane Briers, Innovation Agency CVD Prevention Programme Manager, has over 20 years’ experience of working within cardiology and says the campaign is welcome news at a time when encouraging people to take an interest in their health and wellbeing has never been more important:

She said: “Tackling CVD is a key opportunity to reduce health inequalities. In the North West Coast work is already underway to highlight the need for more people to get a blood pressure check as there are usually no symptoms when it is high.”

Her post is jointly funded by the Innovation Agency and the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Collaborative (ChaMPs.)

This week the Happy Hearts website (www.happy-hearts.co.uk) is being promoted as a place that brings together local and national information for patients, carers and health professionals to support CVD prevention during COVID-19.

Jane said: “We have made some significant steps already in offering advice and support to patients who want to take control of their health. We are still at the early stages of this campaign but I am hopeful weeks like this will serve to highlight and signpost people to the wealth of good quality information that is out there.”

Health Innovation North West Coast is delivering a series of initiatives aimed at improving respiratory care, preventing CVD and spreading the use of remote monitoring to help people with chronic conditions. https://www.innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk/our-work