Concerns over the ability to have a healthy sex life after tackling heart disease will be one of the topics to be discussed next week when local heart and stroke charity Croí will host a series of free public talks, seminars, workshops and ‘walk-in risk factor screening and assessments.
The events will be held in its new state-of-the- art Heart and Stroke Centre, at Moyola Lane, Newcastle, Galway next week from September 17 – 22 .
The week-long programme of activities marks the commencement of programmes and activities at the charity’s first-of-its-kind in Ireland facility.
Members of the public are invited to attend talks, such as “Is there sex after heart disease?”; “Quitting smoking for life”; “The real benefits of exercise”; “The signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke”; and “Reducing cholesterol and blood pressure, through change of lifestyle”.
Olympic sprinter and medical student Paul Hession will give an inspirational talk on Wednesday evening Sept 19, as he is named Lifestyle Ambassador for Croi. The Athenry native will talk about his journey to fitness and perseverance to reach the Olympic Games in London this summer.
The multi-disciplinary team at Croi House (which includes nurse specialists; a dietician; a cardiac technician; a physical exercise specialist; physiotherapist; and a sessional doctor ), will offer free walk-in health checks to the general public during the open week. Members of the public are invited to go along to the new €3.7m building (which has been built and paid for through fundraising and voluntary contributions ) for free blood pressure and pulse checks as well as, body mass index, and waist circumference measurement, during the open week.
There will be CPR demonstrations for all ages over 16 during the week, and yoga classes for people impacted by stroke, and by heart disease; both of which are now regular classes at the Croí centre. There will be free yoga classes for primary school children on the afternoon of Friday Sept 21.
Family weight management and obesity in children and young people will be examined on Saturday Sept 22 in a half-day programme for parents and teachers, who would like practical tips on weight management for children, and how to deal with weight issues in the young.
The series of speakers will include a consultant endocrinologist; a paediatric dietician; a cardiac dietician; a physiotherapist, and a senior dietician with the child and adolescent mental health services. Topics for the Saturday session will include “Practical advice for managing childhood obesity”, “Healthy eating on a budget”, “Getting you family moving – Increasing physical activity levels”, “Food labels – What do they mean?”, and “Supporting lifestyle change – achieving realistic goals in the family setting”.
Announcing details of the week-long public health and education programme, Croí Chairman Prof Kieran Daly said ‘ This marks the consolidation of all Croí’s community programmes and activities which can now take place under the one roof. The Croí House Project marks yet another milestones in the history of the organisation which is now very firmly committed to the prevention of, and recovery from, heart disease and stroke”.
Admission is free to all activities during the week but places must be booked in advance by calling Croí on 091 893515
Full details of the programme are available on www.croi.ie
