Category: heart health

Launch of Digital Health for Heart Health Survey 2

The Digital Health for Heart Health – Priority Setting Partnership is identifying key questions about digital health in heart care. Join Survey 2 to help us prioritise them!

What is heart disease?

Heart disease is a collection of various conditions that impact heart function, such as coronary heart disease, irregular heart rhythms, heart failure, and valve problems. Digital health, which utilises technology to enhance healthcare, has the potential to transform heart disease care. However, there is still much to learn about its effectiveness in improving heart disease management.

What is the survey about?

To address this, patients, carers, family members, and healthcare professionals are collaborating to identify and prioritise crucial questions about digital health in heart care. This effort, supported by the James Lind Alliance, involves a UK-wide team working on the Digital Health for Heart Health Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) to determine the top 10 research priorities, ensuring that future advancements meet the needs of those most affected by heart disease.

In Survey 1, stakeholders shared what issues and questions were most important to them. We narrowed down these responses to create a list of priority research questions and are now asking you to rank your ‘Top 10.’ From here, we will seek funding to carry out research that will hopefully answer these questions.

If you are: a patient with a heart condition or heart disease, you care for someone who has a heart condition or heart disease, or a healthcare professional whose work involves those with heart conditions or heart disease,  we would like to hear what current and future digital technology research priorities are most important to you. This is an opportunity to:

  • Influence heart research priorities
  • Have your voice heard, or be the voice of your patients

The survey is open until October 1st 2024. You can access here. Please take some time to fill it out and share it with those who may be interested. If you would like a paper copy, please contact the team at DigitalHeart@napier.ac.uk

Use Heart, Know Heart

World Heart Day is an annual event established by the World Heart Federation. The objective of the day is to promote heart health and raise awareness about cardiovascular diseases (CVD), as well as educate on the importance of a heart-healthy lifestyle.

This year’s theme is “Use Heart, Know Heart.” This emphasises the importance of heart care as a global issue and knowing what preventative measures can help keep our hearts healthy.

Most people will know or have heart what habits are good for heart health, such as regular exercise and healthy eating habits, stress management and adequate sleep. Some of the lesser-known facts and aspects of CVD that people may be less aware of (and what some of our research covers), include:

  1. Women and Heart Disease: CVD is often seen as a predominantly male issue, but it’s the leading cause of death globally for women too. Symptoms vary from person to person, but women do not experience main symptoms (e.g. chest pain) more or less often than men.
  2. Silent Heart Attacks: Not all heart attacks will have chest pain – sometimes symptoms are subtle, like fatigue, shortness of breath or mild discomfort.
  3. Mental Health Impact: Certain mental health conditions, like depression, anxiety and chronic stress can increase the risk of CVD. Make sure to also take care of your mental wellbeing to take care of your heart.

Understanding these lesser-known aspects of CVD can help people take more proactive measures to protect their heart health and reduce their risk of heart-related problems. Regular check-ups, a healthy lifestyle, and awareness of risk factors are essential in the prevention and management of heart disease.

If you’d like to learn more about our research or about CVD more generally, you may wish to refer to any of the following resources:

Logo of heart and question mark