Preventing the initial onset of heart disease (primary prevention) continues to be an extremely important focus for Have a Heart Paisley. Targeting the high risk age group of 45-60 year olds, the project hopes to instigate and encourage behaviour change which will prevent heart disease from developing. Step 1: Risk Assessment Have a Heart Paisley is targeting all 45-60 year olds in Paisley with a risk assessment initiative.

Over the first few months of 2006, everyone in this age group who lives in Paisley and has a Paisley GP, will receive an invitation to have a free, heart health check. Carried out by a Have a Heart Paisley nurse, the check will take place at the participant’s choice of venue: at their home, a local community centre or a primary care facility.

Taking approximately 40 minutes, the assessment will use the following criteria to estimate the participant’s risk of developing heart disease:
• Age
• Sex
• Total cholesterol
• HDL cholesterol
• Blood pressure
• Smoking status
• Diabetes status

The Have a Heart Paisley nurse will then advise the participant if they need to take action and what to do next.

It is hoped that this initiative will reach those members of the local population who are traditionally hard to reach because they don’t attend their GP. The target population is being reached through a variety of methods including direct mail and the local media, and areas of high deprivation are being specifically targeted - see Health Checks in the Community

Step 2: Health Coaching

Participants will also be invited to take part in the project’s Health Coaching initiative.

This trial service will offer participants the opportunity to link up with a personal health coach, who will help them identify the health behaviour changes they wish to make and support them in making these changes. As well as linking with existing support services, participants will be able to access additional interventions, set up by Have a Heart Paisley to specifically help those going through the health coaching service.

Participants’ use of the service will be built around their own individual needs. However, everyone involved will have a data collection point at 3, 6 and 12 months, where the baseline measurements will be repeated (cholesterol repeated at 12 months only). Lifestyle information relating to the risk factors associated with heart disease will also be gathered at the first health coaching session and revisited as these points. The information gathered will therefore identify not only changes in health, but any behaviour change achieved pertaining to diet, level of physical activity, smoking status and wellbeing.

Moving Forward

Secondary Prevention

Cardiac Rehabilitation