National Lottery funding

People with heart problems will have a speedier, more flexible road to recovery thanks to a British Heart Foundation initiative that puts people at the heart of the healing process.

Around two million people in the UK are living with angina, and every year more than 27,000 people suffer a heart attack. Whilst much attention has been paid to the risk factors, prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease, sustained support is also needed to ensure that patients make a full recovery.

Research shows that cardiac rehabilitation - which includes education, psychological support and exercise training - can cut the risk of further heart attack by 29% .

Supported by a £4.7 million Big Lottery Fund award, the BHF is funding 36 new community based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programmes across England. These offer heart patients a tailored programme of innovative support to help them get back to full health.

A range of activities will be offered at conveniently located centres, or in the home, through the individually designed programmes including tai chi, referral to smoking cessation classes and cook and eat sessions.

The BHF hopes that these projects will lead the way in offering menu driven services for these patients and encourage Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to offer a variety of CR programmes in both hospital and community, giving more access and choice for patients.

As well as the 36 CR programmes, the funding has also helped the BHF to develop more resources for patients. Working closely with Papworth Hospital the BHF has developed a new resource for heart surgery patients called 'Road to Recovery - A Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme'. The Road to Recovery resource includes exercise videos and an updated educational diary and will be used throughout the new programmes to help the heart patient plan and track their recovery.

Find out which PCTs received funding and read an overview of their projects (word doc.)

The project is being evaluated by the BHF Care and Education Research Group at the University of York.

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