Croi have teamed up with the McSharry Pharmacy Group to bring key health messages to Galway women as part of their ‘Women at Heart’ campaign.
The Croi campaign supports the recently launched National ‘Red Alert’ Campaign which aims to raise awareness among women of their risks for heart disease and stroke.
As part of the campaign, Croí will be rolling out a road-show during September which includes free heart health screening in McSharry Pharmacy, Gort Na Rí, Athenry on Friday September 11 from 10am to 3pm.
On the day Croi nurses will be on site offering free blood pressure and pulse checks for women.
Speaking at the launch of this initiative, Croí Nurse Ailish Houlihan said “The statistics speak for themselves – Irish women are seven times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than breast cancer, however, many women are not aware of this fact.
“Our month-long campaign aims to encourage women to become aware of their risk factors for heart disease and stroke as well as highlighting how the symptoms in women may very often be different to that in men.”
She went on to say “Heart Disease is not just a man’s disease and women tend to present with different symptoms to men; tend to present later than men and often experience delays in referral for specialist tests.
“One of the biggest challenges is to encourage women to seek medical attention more promptly. The Croí ‘Women at Heart’campaign is calling on women to ‘put yourself first’. It seems to be a combination of women’s own lack of awareness of their symptoms, and their tendency to put family commitments first that is leading them to delay longer than men in seeking medical care after their symptoms begin.
“The good news, however, is that over 80 per cent of cardiovascular disease is preventable if we make some simple changes to adopt a healthier lifestyle. So I would ask women to avail of this chance to have a free blood pressure and pulse check and make this the first step in making your heart health a priority”
To avail of a Free Blood Pressure and Pulse Check at McSharry Pharmacy, Athenry on Friday September 11th call 091 850500 now to book your place.
To learn more about the Croí ‘Women at Heart’ campaign you can visit a dedicated webpage on the Croí website https://www.croi.ie/women-heart
