Yesterday marked the end of National Heart Month for another year. For the duration of February, we’ve been raising awareness of the British Heart Foundation’s initiative in a variety of ways. You’ve probably seen us on social media sharing some surprising facts or maybe you saw our team at one of our awareness days at an intu centre.

Either way, National Heart Month focuses on ensuring as many people as possible are aware of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), the risk factors and the simple prevention methods that can be adopted, daily.

To round up National Heart Month for another year, we’re looking back on February and all the activities our team got up to.

intu Trafford Centre

February  1st was the team’s first activity where, along with North West Ambulance Service, our team spent the day at intu Trafford Centre in our home city of Manchester, to share their skills in CPR and defibrillation. 

Set up on the ground floor, not far from the busy John Lewis store, our team had a set of manikins as well as training defibrillator units that are designed to fully emulate their clinical counterparts and guide responders through the rescue. With these tools, the assistance from Dave McNally and NWAS, we successfully trained 815 people in effective CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

To say we were proud with this total is an understatement. 

intu Merry Hill

After the success at intu Trafford Centre, on 12^th of February, some of our team traveled further South to intu Merry Hill, just outside of Birmingham, again to share their life-saving skills with the public.

Our team took the same equipment and had the different generations taking part in CPR races to see whose CPR was most effective and most likely to save a life. In just one day, we shared our life-saving skills with 166 people.

Whilst at Merry Hill, we were also intrigued to find out what the public think about first aid, CPR and defibrillators in general. Our 166 people trained helped us collate the following results:

Creative Closet

We couldn’t have an activity that celebrates National Heart Month without including something for our chosen charity, Hand on Heart.

For the last week in February, our Creative team’s office was transformed into a clothes shop where our teams could bring in their unwanted clothes and sell them.

From accessories to shoes and from jumpers to jeans, the Creative office officially became

the Creative Closet!

All the money raised will be passed to Hand on Heart to help them place more defibrillators in schools to ensure we’re making a positive impact against the shocking statistics surrounding sudden cardiac arrest.

Pets Wear it Red

For many of you who don’t know, a lot of our staff are the proud owners of a variety of pets. Our friends at Heartswell South West were raising awareness for National Heart Month in their own way with their Pets Wear it Red campaign where owners were encouraged to ‘safely’ dress their pets in something red and send them a picture.

We simply couldn’t resist and it turns out, our pets definitely rock the red!

Heart Health Priority

Admittedly, for many people, looking after their heart isn’t a priority, but incorporating just a few heart healthy tricks into your daily schedule can really help make a difference and put you on the path towards ultimate heart health.

Balanced Diet

Firstly, maintaining a healthy, balanced diet is one of the main factors when it comes to achieving a healthy heart. It’s easier said than done, but being mindful about what you put in your lunch box and on your plate will ensure you’re eating the good stuff, but with lower calories.

If you enjoy a drink or two, it’s important you enjoy alcohol but in moderation. Excessive drinking can lead to increased blood pressure which is one of the most significant factors for suffering a stroke or a heart attack. Heavy drinking can also lead to a weaker heart muscle, meaning it can’t pump blood around the body as effectively as it should. Remember to enjoy alcohol but in moderation with the guidelines in mind.

Exercise

Exercising is an obvious go-to method when it comes to making your heart healthier. Like any other muscle in the body, it gets stronger and healthier if exercised. Any amount of exercise is beneficial to the heart but it is recommended that you do two and a half hours of moderate exercise every week, this could be a brisk walk or swimming, or alternatively, an hour and fifteen minutes of vigorous activity. This could be running or cycling at a rate of 10mph.

Exercising allows the heart to beat with less strain, meaning more oxygenated blood can be pumped around the body effectively. Exercising will also lead to improved cholesterol levels and lowered fat levels too, further reducing the chances of a heart attack in the future.

Quitting Smoking

Lastly, is quitting smoking. Many people are aware of this, but this is the single best thing you can do for your heart and overall health. Quitting can majorly increase your life expectancy and it can also reduce the chances of contracting multiple diseases.

One of the main benefits of quitting smoking is the decreased chance of a heart attack. After being one-year smoke-free, your chances of suffering a heart attack would now be half of a smoker’s.

If you’ve been contemplating quitting smoking, but are too afraid or worried about pursuing it on your own, there are many support groups and methods out there that will help steer you in the right direction. At the end of it, there’ll be a healthier and happier you!

Going Forward…

Our team has certainly had a busy February, but now that the month has ended, we’re looking ahead to the rest of 2019 and what we can continue to do to further help raise awareness about the importance of CPR and using defibrillators. We've trained over 1,000 people and we certainly don't have any intention of stopping!

For you, now that National Heart Month has come to an end, there’s really no better time to reboot your heart health! Starting on changing your life-style now will set you up for the year ahead.

Maybe you saw some of our team at a CPR demonstration day and have been inspired or have already started to work on your life-style changes to ensure your heart health is a priority. Leave us a comment about your National Heart Month or head on over to our Twitter page, @defibshop and share your stories or thoughts for 2019 with us there.

defibshop are committed to equipping everyone with the skills and knowledge to save a life. Speak to one of our Product Specialists on 0161 776 7422 or fill out our Contact Form.

Image by Isaac Quesada on Unsplash.