World Heart Day is an annual reminder to look after our hearts. Cardiovascular disease — conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels — remains one of the leading causes of death in the UK, and millions of people live with a heart or circulatory condition. The encouraging news is that much of the risk is preventable through everyday choices.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet
Variety and balance are the foundations of heart-healthy eating: plenty of fruit and vegetables, wholegrain starchy foods, and moderation with saturated fat, salt and sugar. Organisations such as the British Heart Foundation offer clear, practical resources to help.
Keep moving
Regular activity is one of the best things you can do for your heart. A widely recommended target is around 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, which can be broken into manageable blocks — even ten minutes at a time counts, and everyday activity such as walking, gardening or taking the stairs all adds up.
Stop smoking and watch alcohol
Smoking substantially increases the risk of a heart attack, so stopping is one of the most powerful steps a person can take. It’s also worth being mindful of alcohol and keeping within the recommended low-risk guidelines, which are framed as a weekly limit spread across several days.
Why should employers care?
Heart health isn’t just a personal matter — it affects attendance, productivity and the wellbeing of your workforce. Prevention reduces sickness absence and helps people stay well at work. Employers running heart-health initiatives get the best results when they:
- plan strategically and tackle one issue at a time rather than trying to do everything at once;
- use peer champions to build momentum and make health feel relatable;
- make information engaging and easy to act on; and
- harness the support of teams, so healthy habits become a shared effort.
Small, consistent changes — for individuals and organisations alike — add up to a real reduction in heart-disease risk over time.
