Being admitted to hospital with a heart problem can be a stressful time for patients and their families.

However, many patients have told us that they also feel anxious when they return home. It can be difficult to get appointments at the GP surgery and many of the common concerns don’t necessarily need a doctor.

We at the Essex Heart Fund recognise that heart patients need support when they return to their homes. We will provide extra community support for heart patients in Essex.

How are you and how can we help you? We support cardiac nurses pro-actively contacting cardiac patients after discharge from hospital (we will ensure that patients give us permission to contact them). In addition to their usual nursing shifts they will call patients at home and discuss any queries or concerns they may have. Please help us provide this support service for heart patients in Essex.

Meet up and support fellow cardiac patients in your community Social isolation for cardiac patients is known to be bad for your physical and mental health. Patient support groups are known to be a valuable resource. Seeing and being able to socialise with fellow patients can help people adapt to cardiac disease. We will support the development of patient groups in Essex.

The money we raise in Essex will be used in Essex. Please help us with this work and get in touch if you would like to be involved. We would particularly like to help heart patients who want to set up local support groups.