Member's statement: Heart Health Month
Member's statement by Mr Gary Middleton on .
- MLA
- Mr Gary Middleton
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 13 February 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Heart Health Month
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4206113
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to say a few words about Heart Health Month and National Heart Month. February is a month when charities and organisations across Northern Ireland and further afield raise awareness of heart health and the impact that it has on individuals and families. At the start of this month, many buildings across Northern Ireland were lit red to encourage people to get talking about heart health. Heart and circulatory diseases cause nearly a quarter of all deaths in Northern Ireland, or around 4,000 deaths per year. That is an average of 11 per day. Around 1,100 of those deaths are of individuals who are under the age of 75. Whether losing a loved one to cardiac arrest or coping with the devastating impact of heart failure, far too many of us have felt the pain of heart and circulatory conditions. Sadly, in 2021, my father-in-law, Cyril Davis, who was seemingly so fit and healthy, died of a massive coronary episode. None of us saw it coming, and, indeed, it has been a difficult journey for our family in getting used to life without him. Sadly, that story is all too familiar to many families across Northern Ireland. In this, National Heart Month, which is the month in which, as a family, we would have marked Cyril's 60th birthday, I am asking all my fellow Members and people across Northern Ireland to join me and others in sharing heart health messages on their social media and to get people talking about it in their daily conversations. Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke (NICHS) is strongly urging people to consider their cardiovascular health. Its Step by Step campaign encourages people to take seven steps towards having a healthier, stronger heart. It is encouraging people to sign up for an online health check through its website; increase their steps and physical activity; try following a healthy and balanced diet; cut back on alcohol; quit smoking; look after their mental health and get enough sleep; and get to know the signs of a heart attack. NICHS's Red Dress Fun Run will take place in the Stormont estate at 11.00 am on 25 February. I encourage as many people as possible to get involved in that event and to encourage their families to do likewise. I pay tribute to all the charities that are proactively working in heart health. That includes the British Heart Foundation, Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke, Children's Heartbeat Trust and many more. By continuing to support those charities and raising awareness, your message could indeed save a life and, hopefully, touch the right person.
440 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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