Cash to help tackle heart disease

Tests will be offered to people over 40 to monitor their risk of heart problems

A total of £1.5m has been earmarked to be spent on tackling Dundee's poor record on heart disease deaths.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) money will be used to help improve residents' health to prevent cardiac problems occurring in the first place.

It will also go towards supporting those who already have heart disease.

BHF figures suggest that a man from Dundee is one-and-a-half times more likely to die young from heart disease than one a few miles away in Angus.

The charity is investing £9m throughout the UK on projects which aim to tackle inequalities in heart disease by focussing on some of the most disadvantaged areas.

Hearty Lives Dundee will involve inviting people in for health checks at an earlier age.

Currently only those aged 45-64 are part of a project which sees blood pressure and cholesterol tests being done and then lifestyle advice offered.

If you think on it - if you waited until people had attacks before you tried to treat them, then how long would they have to spend in hospital? Alex Whyte, 74

That scheme will be extended so that those aged from 40 years old can take part.

Alex Whyte, 74, from the Whitfield area of the city, found out he had a heart problem after getting his blood pressure checked at a local gala day in 2006.

A few months later he had an operation to help open up one of his arteries.

Mr Whyte said: "If this hadn't been done I suppose I could've had a heart attack and then who knows how long you would've been in hospital or even if you would've survived the heart attack."

He welcomes the extra cash that Dundee is getting.

He said: "If you think on it - if you waited until people had attacks before you tried to treat them, then how long would they have to spend in hospital?

"So I think it's very good that they are putting more money into preventative medicine rather than waiting to try to cure people once they've had it [a heart attack]."

The new money will also be used to look at ways of making it easier for people to access health services, for example going into homes, holding sessions at different types of venues and at more flexible times so that more residents can attend.

Marjory Burns, director of BHF Scotland, said: "We recognise that with busy working and family lives, it can be hard for people to eat healthily, or take part in physical activity.

"Hearty Lives Dundee aims to make it easier for the city's residents to make healthier choices as part of their everyday lives."