Could you be the face of a new health campaign?

People across Shropshire are reminded that they can come forward as the potential faces of a new health campaign in the county.

Shropshire Council’s public health team are continuing to look for individuals, family and friend groups to represent Shropshire’s Heart Age campaign, set to launch in New Year 2014.

The campaign’s aim is to help people understand their heart health and how lifestyle factors can affect it by using Heart Age.

Heart Age is a simple online tool that asks a few questions about your health and lifestyle, and uses this information to calculate how old your heart is.  Comparing your heart age to your real age gives you an understanding on how healthy your heart is, and for those whose heart age is greater than their true age, Heart Age provides help and advice on how to improve it.

Shropshire public health have teamed up with global organisation Unilever, who’ve created the Heart Age Tool,  in a quest to motivate Shropshire residents to adopt healthy lifestyle habits that will help reduce their risk of developing chronic health problems.

The team are looking for local residents to be Heart Age champions, and if selected become the face of the campaign.  Heart Age champions chosen for the photoshoot will appear in the Heart Age campaign posters and other promotional material.

We are specifically looking for:

• Women who are 50 and over
• Two female friends 50 and over who’ve been friends for a long time
• Brothers who are 50 and over
• Father aged 65 and over, with daughter aged 35 and over
• Men-only sports teams (eg football, rugby, cricket), or individuals from a male-only sports team

The photo shoot will be held on Monday 21 October 2013 at Shrewsbury Town Football Club. 

If you are one of the above and interested in taking part and being the face of the campaign, all you need to do is send us a photograph of yourself, along with a brief explanation of why you want to be a Heart Age champion and help Shropshire people to improve their heart health.  

Karen Calder, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health, said:

“I would really like to encourage families and friends across Shropshire to come forward to support and be part of this exciting campaign.  If you think you’ve got what it takes to be the face of the Heart Age campaign and meet the criteria, then contact us.”

Holly Whelan, Global New Business Director at Unilever added:

“We have a big targets for the Heart Age tool globally, with a mission to motivate over 100 million people to take the test by 2020.  The ultimate aim of this is to help people adopt healthier diets and lifestyles and reduce their Heart Age.  We are really excited to be working with Shropshire Council and local Shropshire residents on this initiative, because we know that these ambitious global mission and goals can only ever be achieved by working with people at a local level.”

If you fancy becoming a Heart Age champion, with a chance to be the face of the Heart Age campaign, send a photo of yourself and a brief explanation to why you would make a good Heart Age champion to becky.gwilliam@shropshire.gov.uk or Rebecca Gwilliam, Public Health, Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, SY2 6ND.  For further information about the campaign call 01743 253979.

More information on about the Heart Age project and what it takes to be a champion, visit www.healthyshropshire.gov.uk

Further information

Heart Age is based on established science[1] behind the risk factor scores widely used by clinicians.  It engages people by presenting their personal CVD risk factors as their estimated ‘Heart Age’.  If this is greater than their chronological age, it is clear they may face health problems.     

The Heart Age tool has already been used by over six million people worldwide, and studies[2] have shown that it is more effective than conventional CVD risk scores in engaging and motivating participants to adopt healthier lifestyles.   

Source: NHS Choices

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is not a single condition, but a general term used to describe conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels.

Examples of CVD include:

• atherosclerosis, which is a build-up of fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries
• coronary heart disease, which describes a number of conditions caused by atherosclerosis of the arteries to the heart
• stroke, which is when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off 
• heart failure, which is when the pumping action of the heart is impaired, and therefore its ability to supply blood to other parts of the body is less efficient, particularly on exertion
• peripheral arterial disease, which causes problems with the blood supply to your legs and arms.