This is something Lancashire-based 180 Project UK, who support drug users to turn their lives around, quickly realised through their work and by speaking to healthcare professionals. Their new heart-focused programme has now received a £10,000 grant from Heart Research UK.

High stress levels and using drugs to cope lead to an increased risk of developing or suffering from heart disease or heart problems. Early recovery from drug addiction also brings its own dangers in the form of stress.

180 Project UK is determined that people’s past shouldn’t define their future. They aim to turn people’s lives around 180 degrees and break negative or unhealthy patterns of behaviour. To do this they mix physical exercise with education and life coaching.

Currently, the organisation is seeing an increasing number of cocaine addicts who use their services. This is something they are also wanting to tackle as cocaine users are at the highest risk of having a serious cardiac event if they relapse.

The new heart-focused project will bring together vulnerable people who are recovering from addiction problems due to trauma experienced early in life. 180 Project UK have previously seen how their participants tend to make poor food choices due to a lack of knowledge about the importance of nutrition and varied diet. The project leaders have noticed how the lack of healthy food are important underlying factors leading to both mental and physical health problems.

This has shaped the new programme, which consists of preventative activities and educational content to inform and enable the participants to take interest and ownership of their own heart health, building their confidence and ability to help themselves. Each session will start with an hour’s CrossFit exercise to break down barriers and build trust. This is followed by therapeutic and educational workshops, covering topics like food and nutrition, stress management and barriers to change.