Tag: Heart Research UK

Healthy Heart Tip: Dry January

This month is Dry January, which sees many people across the UK take on the challenge of curbing their drinking habits for a whole month.

We know that drinking too much alcohol can lead to increased blood pressure, some types of cancer and weight gain. If you think you could benefit from taking on this challenge or would like to take steps to reduce your alcohol intake, try out some of the below tips this month to get you started!

Know Your Numbers

Knowing how much alcohol you are consuming can be the first step towards making a change. It is recommended to drink less than 14 units of alcohol per week, which is equivalent to approximately seven medium glasses of wine, or six pints of regular strength beer.

You can calculate your exact intake at www.drinkaware.co.uk

Find Alternatives

Most of the time we can satisfy a craving with an alternative option. Try buying some alcohol-free beer or soft drinks to have when you’re next craving an alcoholic drink.

Replace Habits

It can be useful to distract yourself with another activity at the time when you would usually drink. Try going for a short walk or organise to speak with a friend at a time when you would usually drink alcohol.

Be Smart

We can still enjoy alcohol whilst reducing our overall consumption. Some great tactics you can use to reduce your intake include:

  • having a soft drink for every other drink
  • adding one or more alcohol-free days to your week
  • opting for lower strength drinks such as a single spirit mixer instead of a glass of wine, which has over half of the units and calories when you opt for a low-calorie mixer!

For more tips on how to stay healthy, sign up for our weekly healthy tips at www.heartresearch.org.uk/healthy-tips

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Grant awarded to new risk score for heart rhythm monitoring to prevent second strokes

Heart Research UK has awarded a research grant of £115,000 to a project at the University of Glasgow for developing a risk score to help guide investigation for atrial fibrillation. This will allow more people to benefit from anticoagulant drugs to prevent second strokes.

After a stroke, heart rhythm monitors are worn for three days to look for an abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation (AF) that increases the risk of blood clots forming and second strokes.

If the monitor shows that a patient has AF, then blood thinning drugs, called anticoagulants, can greatly reduce the risk of a second stroke. However, there are often long waits for these tests and only four out of every 100 people who have a three-day heart rhythm monitor are found to have AF.

New heart rhythm monitors that are worn for longer find many more people with AF, but these tests are not necessary for everyone who has suffered a stroke. It has also been difficult to implement them in the NHS, as a lot of time and resources are already required to perform the three-day heart rhythm monitors.

The new project, led by Professor Jesse Dawson (above), aims to develop a risk score that identifies people who are unlikely to have AF after stroke and therefore do not need heart rhythm monitoring for three days or longer. This would free up resources so that longer heart rhythm monitoring can be focused on people who are more likely to have AF.

675 people admitted with a stroke to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow will take part in the study. The team will collect clinical and genetic information, heart rhythm recordings, and blood to measure levels of a new blood marker.

All participants will have a 30-day heart rhythm monitor to test for AF and the data will be analysed to develop a risk score that identifies people who do not have AF after the 30 days of monitoring.

The results have the potential to improve care for people affected by AF and stroke by developing a more personalised model of care. This could help to avoid unnecessary tests for people who are unlikely to have AF, during what can be a challenging time for stroke survivors and carers.

It would also mean that longer heart monitoring can be focused on people who are more likely to have AF. This would increase AF detection rates and allow more people to benefit from anticoagulant drugs to prevent second strokes.

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive at Heart Research UK, said: “This is an exciting project where a successful outcome would enable the healthcare system to focus resources for heart rhythm monitoring after a stroke, on those who really need it.

“Anticoagulants are vital in preventing people from suffering a second stroke and we are proud to be able to support Professor Dawson and team in helping more people to benefit from them.”

You can read more about Heart Research UK’s Research Grants here.

Healthy Heart Tip: Veganuary

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK

Veganism is on the rise and this January many people will challenge themselves to ‘Veganuary’, a month-long campaign aimed at encouraging people to try out a vegan diet. A vegan diet contains only plant-based food and drink options and this can offer benefits for the environment, animal welfare and health.

The health benefits of a vegan diet depend on what food and drinks you choose. People who follow a vegan diet generally consume more fruit, veg and fibre, and less saturated fat than non-vegans, and this can have a positive impact on heart health.

Tips for healthy eating as a vegan:

  • Eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day – keep it varied and colourful.
  • Base your meals on starchy carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta and rice, and choose wholegrain versions to increase your fibre intake.
  • Include dairy-free alternatives, such as soya drinks and yoghurts and choose lower-fat and lower-sugar options where possible.
  • Eat protein-rich foods such as beans, pulses, tofu, unsalted nuts, and seeds.
  • Ensure you include some unsaturated oils and spreads in your diet. Rapeseed and flaxseed oils contain omega-3 fats, which can be beneficial for heart health.  

Top yourself up!

  • To make sure your body isn’t missing out on essential nutrients, a vegan diet needs to be well-planned, and you might need to top up on some vitamins.
  • At this time of the year, when sunlight exposure is limited, everyone in the UK should consider taking a vitamin D supplement. This is especially important if you’re cutting out animal products.
  • You’ll also need to supplement on vitamin B12 as you can’t get this from plant-based foods. Check food labels for the word ‘fortified’- most vegan spreads, breakfast cereals and soya products have vitamin D, calcium and B12 added to them.

The vegan diet isn’t the be all and end all to good health but taking a leaf out of the vegan way could set you off in the right direction when it comes to heart health. Why not give Veganuary a go? You could start with just one vegan meal a day, or one vegan day a week, and see how you like it!

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: 

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Healthy Heart Tip: Curb Your Couch Potato

We all spend at least some of our time each day sitting down, whether it’s when we are working or watching the television, but research shows that too much sitting can be bad for our heart.

We should ideally aim to sit down for no more than 8 hours each day, but this can be difficult, especially if we have a desk-based job.

Here are some tips on how to be more active:

Set a Movement Reminder

  • If you are working at a desk, try setting an alarm once every hour to get up and move. This could be as simple as walking to get a glass of water or doing a few star-jumps on the spot!

Vary Your Workspace

  • If you have access to a standing desk, this can be a great way to reduce the amount of time you spend sitting down. If not, there are lots of ways that you can still change your work setup, such as by using a raised surface like a kitchen worktop, or by placing your laptop on a sturdy box.

Take Active Breaks

  • Taking a short walk on a lunch break can be a great way to take your mind off your work, enhance your energy levels and get your heart pumping.

Get Creative

  • Setting cues can help to remind us to move during the day. A fun and creative way to do this is to label each door in your house with an exercise such as squats, star jumps or jogging, and every time you walk through each door, you do the exercise labelled on that door.

For more tips like this, please visit www.heartresearch.org.uk/health-tips

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:
https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Healthy Heart Tip: Mulled Wine & Cider – Counting the units

Studies have shown 61% of the UK’s population over-indulge in alcohol over the festive season, more than they usually do.

Drinking too much alcohol can increase your risk of heart disease. How much is too much? How do you know how many units of alcohol you are consuming?

We’re providing some guidance on understanding alcohol units and keeping track of how much you are drinking this Christmas. 

What are alcohol units and ABV?

Alcohol units represent the quantity of pure alcohol contained within an alcoholic drink (1 unit is 10ml of pure alcohol). The number of units of alcohol in your drink depends on the size and the strength of your drink. ABV means ‘alcohol by volume’ and this is a measure of the amount of alcohol as a percentage of the total volume of a drink.

Calculating your units

You can find the ABV on the labels of cans and bottles. To calculate the number of units in a drink, multiply the ABV by the volume (in ml) and divide by 1000.

    • ABV x volume (ml) ÷ 1000 = units
 1 BOTTLE OF WINE1 PINT BEER / LAGER / CIDER1 SINGLE SPIRIT

 750ml (ABV 13.5%) =

10 units
1 pint (568ml) (ABV 5.2%) =

3 units
25ml (ABV 40%) =

1 unit
 

The drinks you pour at home may be larger than the amount measured out in pubs. You could try using a measuring cup when pouring drinks at home so you can keep track of what you are drinking.

How much is too much?

For men and women, the maximum recommended alcohol units each week is 14, spread over 3 or more days. If you are pregnant, it is recommended that you do not drink alcohol at all.

Try recording how much you are drinking over a week using a diary or alcohol tracker.

Drinkaware provide assessment tools that you can use to track the amount you are drinking: https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/tools

Support for your drinking

If you are worried about how much you, or someone you know, are drinking you can get support by visiting: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-support/

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Healthy Heart Tip: Keep moving this Christmas!

After sitting down to enjoy Christmas dinner, many of us head straight to the sofa to spend the remainder of Christmas Day watching TV, playing board games, snacking or taking a nap.

It is estimated that the average person in the UK consumes two to three times their recommended calorie intake on Christmas day, so why not get off the sofa, get moving and burn off some extra calories this Christmas?

Get on your bike


In 2020, there was an increase in bicycle sales. If you own a bike, why not get out for a Christmas Day cycle and make the most of the roads being quieter than usual. If your kids got bikes for Christmas, why not join them for a cycle around your local area.

Walk the dog


Dog ownership also increased in 2020. If you or your family have a dog, try not to miss out on your usual walk on Christmas Day. If you normally do two walks, try to stick to the plan and don’t skip one of them. You could even increase the distance of your walk to burn off a few extra calories on Christmas Day. 

Dance the day away


Dance floors may have been out of bounds in 2020 due to COVID-19, but don’t let this stop you from getting your groove on! Why not put on your favourite tunes and dance around the kitchen as you prepare Christmas dinner. You could put your favourite 2021 music videos on and get your household dancing in the living room after dinner.

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: 

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Research grant for Edinburgh project investigating new drug which could prevent injury to the heart after heart attack

A research project at the University of Edinburgh, led by Professor Gillian Gray, has been awarded £88,000 by Heart Research UK. Prof Gray’s team has discovered that a drug originally developed to treat obesity and diabetes also promotes repair of the heart after a heart attack and reduces the development of heart failure.

Now the team will use ‘mass spectrometry imaging’ (MSI) to look in more detail at the effects of the drug on the heart muscle.

Heart attacks occur when the blood flow to the heart is interrupted, causing damage that can weaken the heart and lead to heart failure. The new drug that has been discovered acts early after heart attack to prevent the spread of injury in the heart muscle and therefore has the potential to benefit many patients.

As obese and diabetic people are at higher risk of heart attack, the combined actions of the drug on the heart, fat and insulin make it particularly appealing.

The drug has already undergone safety tests in volunteers, so could now rapidly progress to human trials. However, the research team will first need to show that this new drug offers benefits over existing drugs used to treat heart failure.

To do this, the team will use MSI to further investigate the effects the drug has on the heart. It is anticipated that this will provide unique evidence that the biochemical pathways in the heart muscle affected by the drug are distinct from those affected by drugs already used to treat heart failure.

MSI uses a laser to collect samples from slices of tissues. Levels of substances in the body like cortisol and cholesterol breakdown products, that we expect to change after a heart attack and in response to the drug, can be measured in each spot targeted by the laser. This information can then be used to build a map of where they are found.

The MSI group, led by collaborator Professor Ruth Andrew, have already used this technique to visualise and measure activity of the enzyme targeted by the drug in the brain, liver and kidney.

They will prepare thin sections of heart muscle and use the laser to capture samples from injured areas and compare these to samples from healthy areas. MSI has enormous potential for helping to understand biochemical pathways in the heart but has never been systematically applied to heart tissue before.

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive of Heart Research UK, said: “We’re very happy to be able to award one of our Novel and Emerging Technologies Grants to Professor Gray and her team.

“This project will generate novel MSI data from heart tissue which will provide vital information on how the drug affects the heart, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

You can read more about and apply for Heart Research UK’s Research Grants here.

Keeping Santa Heart-Healthy

Heart Research UK campaign seeks to educate people on the risk of heart attacks over the winter period

Reports have found that the risk of heart attack rises approximately 15% over Christmas time. To highlight the dramatic effect the festive season can have on heart health, national heart charity Heart Research UK has created a special Christmas awareness campaign that aims to inform the public and raise vital funds that will benefit life-saving research.

Research from the UK and Sweden has shown that Christmas can put a huge strain on our hearts, with approximately a 15% increase in heart attack risk at Christmas time. Seasonal changes and the rise in contagious illnesses including influenza can contribute to a person’s increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease and it’s especially dangerous for the elderly and those with certain underlying health conditions.

Reports show that deaths due to cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease increase during the winter months with heart attacks (myocardial infarction) being more prevalent.

In 2019/20 in the UK, there were 6,661 excess winter deaths due to cardiovascular disease which included 2,820 deaths due to coronary heart disease. In addition to this, research from Sweden found that the risk of heart attack increased by 15% during the Christmas and New Year period.

It is therefore easy to see why Santa Claus finds himself the subject of Heart Research UK’s latest campaign. With his stressful job, poor diet, irregular exercise and fondness for mince pies and sherry, Santa fits this profile of someone who needs to be aware of their heart health over the Christmas period.

Introducing ‘A Healthy Heart Christmas’– a new campaign from Heart Research UK designed to raise awareness of the risk of heart disease during the winter months.

The campaign highlights the increase in risk of heart attack over the winter months and highlights the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption and stress whilst providing a number of handy resources via their website to help everybody enjoy a heart healthy and stress-free Christmas.

To accompany the campaign, Heart Research UK has partnered with thortful, the UK’s largest online card marketplace, to create a set of hand-drawn, limited-edition Christmas cards showing traditional festive scenes. Proceeds from sales of the cards will go towards funding Heart Research UK’s lifesaving research.

“We are extremely grateful to all the thortful customers for their generous contributions. The donations from the Christmas card sales will help us raise much-needed funds for our pioneering medical research into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease. We are so thankful for their support. Together we can take on heart disease.” says Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive at Heart Research UK.

Finally, as part of a radio spot promoting the campaign, BAFTA-winning actor and Line of Duty star Mark Bonnar has lent his distinctive voice to a special retelling of the iconic Christmas poem ‘A Visit from St Nicholas’, leading with the famous ‘Twas the night before Christmas’ verse before encouraging people to visit Heart Research UK’s website and donate.

Anyone who wants to donate towards their life-saving research or learn more, can visit the Heart Research UK website (https://heartresearch.org.uk/), where they can access a range of useful tips and guidance on how to take care of their heart and make little changes to their lifestyle and diet over the holidays.

The range of limited-edition Heart Research UK Christmas cards are available to purchase here https://www.thortful.com/creator/heartresearchuk with all proceeds supporting Heart Research UK. 

Healthy Heart Tips: Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is an approach to food where you pay full attention to eating. Research has shown that eating mindfully can improve digestion, help regulate appetite and helps us enjoy our food much more.

Here we share some simple ways to incorporate mindful eating into your daily routine:

Preparing your food
For many people, cooking can feel like a chore but it doesn’t have to be a rushed experience or something we do on autopilot. Whether you’re chopping, slicing, or marinating, the art of being mindful when you are cooking is an ideal opportunity to focus your attention on textures, sounds and smells. If your mouth waters – you know you’re on track!

Slow down
Taking the time to eat and chew your food thoroughly will enable you to taste the essence of the food. During a meal, you could practice taking smaller bites of food and try to put down your knife and fork between mouthfuls. You may be surprised at all the flavours that are released that you may not normally notice.

Eating around the table
When life gets busy, it can be easy to slip into the habit of eating on the run and neglect taking time to sit down together. Trying to factor in time for sitting around the table can be beneficial for all members of a family or household. It can help everyone switch off from the stresses of the day and provide an opportunity to reconnect over a meal.

No distractions
We tend to eat more mindlessly when we are distracted. We also don’t taste and experience the food as much because our mind is elsewhere.

Try eating with no distractions; this means eating without your laptop or phone, or when reading or watching TV so that you can relax and enjoy your food in the moment.

Mindful eating takes practice, and the more you practice, the more natural it will feel!

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Healthy Heart Tips: Insulin and our Hearts

Insulin is an important hormone that allows sugar to move from our blood, after digesting food, into our muscles and fat cells to be either burned or stored.

Diabetes, is the name we give to the disease related to problems with our insulin. Whilst some types of Diabetes are caused by factors out of our control, Type 2 Diabetes can usually be prevented in younger individuals by adopting a healthy lifestyle. What’s more, most of the lifestyle actions we can take to limit our diabetes risk will also help to improve our heart health!

With this in mind, here are some tips for doing just that:

Eat more Fibre

Fibre can not only help to reduce cholesterol levels but also helps to slow down how quickly our blood sugar levels increase. Try and swap white pasta and bread for wholegrain options, eat more fruit and vegetables, and snack on unsalted nuts and seeds.

Create Activity Opportunities

Staying active is one of the most effective ways to maintain our weight and lower blood pressure. Consider how you can incorporate a minimum of one ‘activity opportunity’ every day, whether it’s walking the dog, cleaning your house, or dusting off your old bike. Remember to keep it fresh and do something you enjoy!

Take the 5% Challenge

Reducing our bodyweight by more than 5% is an effective way to positively manage our future health, however any weight loss is beneficial, so start small and build on your success! Remember to set a goal over a realistic timeframe; 0.5-2lb per week is sustainable.

Know Your Numbers

Eating excessive amounts of sugar over many years can be harmful to our health. Try and opt for foods with less than 5g of sugar per 100g most of the time, and limit high sugar foods such as fizzy drinks and sweets to less than twice per week.

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/