The Problem:

Coronary heart disease is Scotland’s biggest killer. Approximately 42,000 people in South Lanarkshire are living with heart and circulatory disease and every 8 hours someone in this community dies as a result of this. Recent feedback from community consultations highlighted the need for information, services and support surrounding heart health. MorphFit Gentle Movement Project is providing this by running The Heart of the Matter project to prevent heart diseases within South Lanarkshire.

The Project:

The Heart of the Matter encourages the community to live, learn, work and play healthier and happier. MorphFit Gentle Movement Project will run an 8-week program which focuses on both physical activity and education surrounding heart health. The physical activity sessions will consist of gentle exercise, yoga, circuits and traditional-style school games making these sessions accessible for all beneficiaries. They will be educated on heart health and the factors that affect it such as diet, alcohol and smoking, with additional sessions focussing on mindfulness and meditation.

The Benefits:

This project will conduct health checks at the start and end of each cohort, evidencing the impact the beneficiaries will have made. These measurements include body mass index, NHS heart age and blood pressure, as well as conducting lifestyle questionnaires and the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. Heart of the Matter will consider the care of the whole person, improving physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing with a key focus on heart health. The beneficiaries will be provided with their own recipe book which includes simple and cost-effective meals allowing them to continue eating healthy post-project.