Press
Release Summary: Lloydspharmacy campaign against the threat of
Coronary Heart Disease joined by Royle Family star Ricky Tomlinson
Press
Release Body: Actor Ricky Tomlinson has warned
British men against the threat of Coronary Heart Disease
(CHD) as part of a new campaign for Lloydspharmacy.
Ricky freely admits that he did not take his heart health seriously
in the past and paid the price in 2007 when he was diagnosed with
heart disease after his wife insisted that he went to the doctor
for a check-up.
A quadruple bypass and a significant amount of weight loss later,
Ricky says he is a new man. He admits that if his wife hadn't
mentioned to his doctor that he had been a little breathless,
he would probably be either very ill now, or worse.
Tomlinson's
campaign, 'Ten Years Longer', is designed to
encourage men who are at risk of CHD to get their hearts checked
out. "Men think illness is the same as weakness and it's
not very manly to be ill," said Ricky. "The
trouble with that is that if you ignore your health then you are
more likely to get very ill indeed."
He
continued, "If women will go on a TV show to look ten
years younger, then men can go to a pharmacy to live ten years
longer."
According
to a new study by Lloydspharmacy,
CHD will rob British men of more than 16.5 million
years of life, although early detection of cardiovascular problems
could lead to 4.3 million of those years being saved. That's an
average of 4 years per at-risk individual, but for some the number
of additional years could be much greater.
Andy
Murdock, Pharmacy Director for Lloydspharmacy said: "Most
men can manage to keep the appointments that they think are important.
They get their cars serviced, get to meetings on time and remember
to file their tax returns. The one appointment they can't seem
to make is for a health check up."
Lloydspharmacy
offers cholesterol
and heart checks at 625 of its pharmacies across the UK. The
Lloydspharmacy cholesterol and heart check removes many of the
excuses men typically give for not getting themselves checked
out. No appointment is necessary so they can just walk into the
chemist
off the street at a time which is convenient.
Dr
David Grainger, a heart
disease researcher at Cambridge University and British Heart
Foundation Senior Fellow, who compiled the Lloydspharmacy
study, said, "When my father died suddenly from a heart
attack at the age of 55, he had no idea there was any problem
with his heart. But this study emphasises that despite improvements
over the last decade, heart disease still has a huge impact on
the health of the UK population, and men in particular. The first
step to avoiding a heart attack is being aware of the risks."
About
The Lloydspharmacy Heart Healthcheck
The 15 minute Lloydspharmacy Heart Healthcheck checks cholesterol,
blood pressure, blood glucose and body mass index as well as giving
a full lifestyle assessment. Based on these results a percentage
risk score of developing heart disease over the next ten years
is estimated. Everyone who uses the free service will receive
a personal action plan and summary of the test results. For high-risk
customers a support pack is supplied and referral to the GP is
recommended.
The
Heart Healthcheck was trialled in 122 Lloydspharmacy outlets across
the country last year and results show approximately 40% of those
who had a check were referred to their GP.
2025
