Yorkshire and the Humber MEP, Linda McAvan, is urging people to love their heart this Valentine’s Day.
A Twitter campaign, using the hashtag #loveyourheart, is raising awareness of the dangers of heart problems, which includes cardiovascular disease and strokes, and is offering tips to make your heart healthier.
Deaths from heart and circulatory disease are one of the biggest killers of people in the UK and death rates from heart problems are above average in Yorkshire and the Humber. Some parts of the region, such as Hull and Barnsley, are significantly above the national average.
Linda said: “The Love Your Heart campaign is designed to make people aware of the simple things people can do to reduce their chances of suffering from heart problems. Just by getting active people can cut their chances of getting heart disease or a stoke by 19%.
“The campaign is also hoping that some stark facts will help people realise the importance of loving their heart. In the time it takes to read a tweet six people will have died from tobacco related illnesses.”
The campaign is the work of the European Parliament’s Heart Group, which brings MEPs together to promote measures that will help reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases across Europe.
Linda, who is the Heart Group’s chair, said: “Heart disease and stroke affects every country in the EU and the MEP’s Heart Group is fighting to make sure the EU and its member countries take into account the devastating effect of cardiovascular disease when making policy.”
• Follow the Love Your Heart campaign on twitter by entering the #loveyourheart hashtag into Twitter’s search engine.
• You can follow Linda on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lindamcavanmep
Regional statistics on cardiovascular diseases in Yorkshire and the Humber
• Age-standardised deaths from coronary heart disease for men and women under 75, in England was 19.69 in 2006-08. In Yorkshire and the Humber the figure was 23.24. Barnsley was the worst affected area with 33.93 closely followed by Kingston upon Hull with 33.27.Hambleton had the lowest rate with 14.20.
• Tobacco: Yorkshire & the Humber is the region with the largest number of smokers in all of Britain - 25% of adults being cigarette smokers compared to average of 21% in rest of England.
• Poor diet: Yorkshire & the Humber is one of the fattest places in the country: Obesity in women (at 23.8 per cent) is the second highest in the UK and is getting worse every year. A total of 3,600 people in Yorkshire already die each year from obesity-related illnesses. Our region has the fourth lowest rate of fruit and vegetable consumption in the country, with only 23% of adults and 15% of children eating five portions or more a day.
• Alcohol: Across Yorkshire & the Humber 45% of men and 39% of women report drinking more than the Department of Health recommended daily units (3-4 or 2-3 units respectively) on their heaviest drinking day. This ranks Y&H second highest among all English regions for hazardous drinking, with only the North West reporting higher figures.
• Lack of physical activity - Within Yorkshire & the Humber, only 40% of men and 26% of women take enough physical exercise to benefit their health.