Men are being urged to Reboot their lives

Janis Morrissey

Director of Health Promotion, Information and Training, Irish Heart Foundation

A new lifestyle campaign has been launched to encourage men in Ireland to review their lifestyles and make important changes to improve their heart health. 

One in four men in Ireland die from heart disease and stroke. Men are nearly three times more likely than women to die young from these issues – but the good news is that 80% of those deaths are preventable through healthy lifestyles.

The older you get, the higher your risk – and so it is important that men, particularly those in their 40s and 50s, take stock of and Reboot their lifestyles by identifying what simple changes they can make now to benefit their heart health into the future.

Reviewing your lifestyle

A new survey has found that more than one in four men do not consider the health of their heart a priority, despite the fact that men are at an increased risk of dying early from heart disease and stroke compared to women.

The Irish Heart Foundation has launched a new campaign which aims to encourage men in Ireland to review their lifestyles and make important changes to improve their heart health.

The campaign is supported by Rugby Players Ireland and the Irish Heart Foundation was delighted to get the help of a number of former Ireland internationals – Tommy Bowe, Malcolm O’Kelly, Peter Stringer and Paul Wallace to launch the campaign.

In the past five years, two of the players’ friends and former teammates, Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley and Gary Halpin, passed away suddenly due to heart issues at the ages of just 42 and 55.

CSO data shows that 999 men died of a heart attack in 2020, compared to 642 women.

Taking control of your health

The former players have come together with the Irish Heart Foundation to encourage men of all backgrounds and fitness levels to take control of their health and ‘Reboot their Lives’ this September.

CSO data shows that 999 men died of a heart attack in 2020, compared to 642 women. In the same year, in the 45 to 54 age group, 217 men died of heart disease and stroke compared to only 75 women. The campaign calls on men to sign up on the Irish Heart Foundation website where they can access heart health information, assess their lifestyle through a quiz and download a helpful booklet with lots of tips to Reboot.

The campaign is being supported by the HSE as part of their delivery on Healthy Ireland, the national framework to support health and wellbeing in Ireland.