Helping New Zealanders

Healthy Hearts for all New Zealanders

Cardiovascular disease – heart, stroke and blood vessel disease – is our biggest killer, accounting for 40% of all deaths annually. The Heart Foundation is driven to improving heart health for all New Zealanders as we endeavour to help keep families together for longer, given so many cardiovascular-related deaths are preventable and premature.

The purchase of Heart Foundation Lottery tickets provides vital funding so ultimately we can help you, your family and your friends by:

• funding vital heart research
• advancing cardiac rehabilitation
• promoting healthier lifestyles

As the charity driving heart health activity for all New Zealanders, we need your support. So from us, thank you.

Promoting Healthy Lifestyles

Advance Cardiac Rehabilitation

Supporting those with Heart Disease Cardiac rehabilitation helps people with heart conditions to understand how they can avoid having another cardiac event. This is done in several ways, including the provision of information about cardiac conditions, the medication available and heart-healthy lifestyles. Advice and support on coping with the emotional stressors of a cardiac condition are also integral to a programme.

Completing a cardiac rehabilitation programme has been shown to reduce death rates after a cardiac event by about 25%.

The Heart Foundation assists with the promotion and support of cardiac rehabilitation in New Zealand through a number of initiatives. Currently the Heart Foundation in involved with three key initiatives:

The provision of patient resources used by health care professionals to provide initial recovery information and reading material.

The Heart Guide Aotearoa home based programme for people unable to access hospital
rehabilitation programmes

Affiliated and associated cardiac clubs that provide ongoing heart health education, physical activity and emotional support programmes.

These initiatives play an important part in helping people reduce the risk of a future cardiac event.

What is Jump Rope for Heart?

A key focus for the Heart Foundation is combating childhood obesity - by taking part in Jump Rope for Heart, children learn the importance
of lifelong physical activity and maintaining good health.

Since its beginnings in 1985, more than one million New Zealand children have participated in the Heart Foundation’s Jump Rope for Heart programme.

The programme has become a leading physical education resource for schools across the country. It is a valuable tool in promoting the importance of physical activity and healthy
lifestyles to primary and intermediate-aged students, as they learn age-appropriate curriculum-based skipping and movement skills from the educational resource.

Pick the Tick

The Heart Foundation Tick identifies foods that have met the Tick
nutrition standards.

Tick approved products are generally lower in saturated fats, trans fat, salt and calories and some products have increased levels of positive nutrients, such as dietary fibre and calcium.
Tick products present a healthier choice in their food group.

The Tick’s key public health goal is to make positive and measurable improvements to the food supply and to signpost healthier food choices, by food category, for shoppers.

The Heart Foundation’s Food Industry Team also raises awareness of healthier food formulation within the wider food industry through a number of important projects.

For more information on the work of the Heart Foundation visit www.heartfoundation.org.nz
To visit the Pick the Tick website click here.