Sponsored by ProCare and the Auckland branch of the National Heart Foundation, the "Heart of a Warrior Challenge" supported 20 male Maori and Pacific club members aged over 35 years old to start using a range of heart health tools and regularly visit their GP for a heart "WOF" assessment between November 2010 and August 2011.
Following two special presentations explaining how to use the Heart Foundation's
"Know your Numbers" tool, more than half the members went on to talk through their health with their ProCare doctor (GP), in GP visits funded by the Heart Foundation as part of the programme. These visits resulted in four club members beginning medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol levels and two being diagnosed with diabetes. Around the same number continued with a three month programme making changes to their lifestyle such as reducing alcohol intake, increasing physical activity and adopting changes to their diet. Others quit smoking and accessed some of the wide range of
ProCare Health Promotion services.
The impact of heart disease on the club up until the programme was introduced had been dramatic and widely felt.
The club has a membership of 300 Maori and Pacific males and in the year leading up to the start of the programme, at least seven members aged 35 years and over had experienced heart episodes, causing ripples of stress and worry throughout their wider families and community.
You can access
the Heart Foundation's Know Your Numbers online tool here.
Call your doctor (GP) today if you are interested in having a follow up and assessment of your heart health.
If you are interested in getting your sports club involved in a similar programme,
contact ProCare's Health Promotion team via email here or public-enquiry@procare.co.nz .