Press Releases
Don't break your heart this Valentine's Day (PR 920)
With the rate of coronary heart disease significantly higher in Ealing than the national average, it's not just Valentine's Day that could lead to a broken heart this month.
Residents are invited to learn more about this disease at a free open-day on Thursday 15 February at the Priory Community Centre in Acton.
Ealing Council and Ealing Primary Care Trust have brought together a dozen agencies, including the British Heart Foundation, Cardiac Care Network and Smoking Cessation, to provide expert advice and information on how to prevent, manage and treat coronary heart disease (CHD).
Diseases of the circulatory system including heart attacks, coronary heart disease, strokes and other vessel diseases are the main cause of death in Ealing. The average rate of death from CHD from 1998 to 2002 in Ealing was 7.8% higher than the average for England and Wales.
The information sessions will run from 2 – 6.30pm and people will have the opportunity to have their blood pressure checked, to chat about their lifestyle, get support and advice on giving up smoking and receive tips on improving their diet to help look after their heart.
From 7 – 9.30pm, the council's health, housing and adult social services scrutiny panel will host an open meeting to investigate what more can be done to reduce coronary heart disease in Ealing. Speakers from local NHS bodies and the British Heart Foundation will give presentations and answer questions.
Members of the public will be free to contribute their ideas and views on what more can be done.
Scrutiny Panel Chairman, Councillor Clifford Pile, said: "The rate of coronary heart disease in Ealing is 7.8% higher than at a national level, so we all need to work together to see what can be done to improve the situation locally.
"I hope that people will take the opportunity to obtain free information and advice during the afternoon and also help the panel identify what it can recommend for future action to tackle this disease."
For further details people can contact Ealing Council's Scrutiny Unit on 020 8825 8182 or email scrutiny@ealing.gov.uk.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
The Priory Community Centre is located at Acton Lane, Acton,
W3 8NY.
In 2002, deaths due to coronary heart disease were highest in
the following Ealing wards:
1st Southall Green, 2nd Southall Broadway, 3rd Dormers Wells,
4th Norwood Green, 5th Northolt Mandeville, 6th Acton Central, 7th
East Acton, 8th Northolt West End, 9th Walpole, 10th Ealing
Broadway.