Blackpool’s battle to prevent people dying from heart disease has been given a boost of £100,000.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded the money by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
The money will be used to help people living in some of the poorest areas of Blackpool where the death rates from heart disease are among some of the highest in the country.
The cash has been awarded as part of the BHF’s UK-wide Hearty Lives programme and will fund community volunteers who will work with the residents to encourage healthier lifestyles.
They will try and tackle important issues such as smoking, obesity and alcoholism.
BHF Hearty Lives Programme representative Shirley Hall said: “We are delighted to be working with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on the Hearty Lives Blackpool project.
“We believe the best way to tackle heart health inequalities is to empower communities to make sustainable change for themselves.
“We hope people in Blackpool see significant health improvements as a result of this investment.”
Over the past ten years the early death rates from cancer, heart disease and strokes have fallen in Blackpool but the number of people dying is still higher than the national average.
The latest figures show that in an average year 239 men and women in Blackpool die due to heart disease and life expectancy for people living in Blackpool is lower than the national average.
Public health facilitator at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Rachel Swindells, said: “We are thrilled to have been given the opportunity to be part of a nationwide Hearty Lives programme.
“We recognise there is a great deal to do in terms of increasing the health of our local population and the BHF grant will go a long way in helping us to achieve this.”