Heart Works

25/11/2025

Nutritional Gem: Tomatoes & Your Heart 🍅

Here’s a simple everyday food with big benefits — tomatoes are rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that supports healthy cholesterol and helps protect your blood vessels. Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that people with higher lycopene levels tend to have lower LDL cholesterol and better overall heart health.

A delicious, effortless way to give your heart a little extra support. ❤️

Fresh, roasted, blended, or simmered — how do you enjoy them?

23/11/2025

Understanding exercise intensity — what’s light, moderate, and vigorous? ❤️

Recognising how hard you’re working is an important part of exercising safely and effectively — especially when supporting heart health. Here’s a simple way to understand the different intensity levels:

✨ Light physical activity
Very gentle movement where your heart rate is only slightly elevated — such as a slow walk or light household tasks. Comfortable, easy to sustain, and great for staying active throughout the day.

✨ Moderate-intensity physical activity
You’ll feel a little out of breath, and your breathing becomes more noticeable. You can talk and hold a conversation, but you can’t sing comfortably. This level can usually be maintained for many minutes or longer.

✨ Vigorous-intensity physical activity
Clear signs of effort: heavier breathing, a pounding heart, and the ability to speak only a few words at a time. For adults who are not accustomed to structured exercise, this level is typically sustainable for just 2–3 minutes before needing a break.

Understanding these intensity levels helps you exercise safely, build confidence, and better support your long-term heart health.

20/11/2025

Heartworks End-of-Year Social — RSVP by 27 November! ✨

We’re wrapping up 2025 with a relaxed get-together for our Heartworks community, and we’d love to see you there. It’s a chance to connect, unwind, and celebrate the year together.
If you haven’t RSVP’d yet, please do so by 27 November.

You’ll also find updates in this week’s newsletter – including our Education Evening survey, the November challenge, and a simple holiday wellbeing tip.

We hope you can join us! ❤️

This relaxed get-together is for all current and past Heartworks members. It’s a chance to unwind, connect with familiar faces, meet new ones, and celebrate the year that’s been. Feel free to bring along a family member, friend, neighbour, or colleague—we’d love to welcome them.

19/11/2025

Hydration Reminder

Even mild dehydration can affect your energy, mood, and heart function.
Keep water nearby and sip often — small habits make a big difference for your heart. 💙

18/11/2025

It’s more than a workout — it’s a conversation, a check-in, a moment to connect.

Every session at Heartworks is guided, supportive, and tailored to you — because recovery should never feel like something you’re doing alone.

17/11/2025

Here’s a look back at our 2025 Education Evenings — thank you to everyone who joined us!

This year, our sessions have explored a wide range of heart-health topics — from pacing your recovery and understanding heart rate zones to nutrition, hormones, aging gracefully, and even the link between dental and heart health.

Each session has been about connection, learning, and confidence — creating an environment where knowledge empowers recovery. We’ve loved seeing so many of you engage, ask thoughtful questions, and build confidence through understanding.

As we plan our 2026 calendar, we’d love your feedback to help make next year’s sessions even more relevant and engaging.

🕐 The short survey takes just 3–5 minutes to complete.
🗒️ It’s completely anonymous, and your input will directly shape the topics and speakers for next year’s programme.

Survey link: https://forms.gle/phSTTLwD3kD5LkiH7 or Scan the QR code in the clinic to share your thoughts.

16/11/2025

Exercise-Based Cardiac Rehab for Atrial Fibrillation

A new Cochrane Review including over 2,000 people with atrial fibrillation (AF) confirms what research and clinical experience shows — structured, supervised exercise works. The review found that exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation improves quality of life, reduces AF symptoms, and enhances fitness, all without increasing risk. Participants experienced a 12–15% improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness, fewer palpitations, less fatigue, and a 35% lower risk of hospital readmission.

Exercise-based cardiac rehab isn’t just for people recovering from heart attacks or surgery. When guided safely, it can help anyone managing AF feel stronger, more confident, and more in control of their heart health. AF doesn’t just affect your heart rhythm — it affects your everyday life.
If you’re living with AF, exercise-based cardiac rehab can be a highly effective way to reduce symptoms, boost fitness, and take charge of your heart health.

📖 Read the full study:
Buckley BJ et al. Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for atrial fibrillation: Cochrane systematic review, meta-analysis, and trial sequential analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2025; bjsports-2024-109149.

11/11/2025

Heartworks: Empowering Your Recovery

At Heartworks, we believe recovery is about more than exercise. It’s about rebuilding confidence, regaining independence, and taking control of your heart health. Every program is clinically led, technology enabled, and evidence based, so you can recover safely while building strength and resilience — both physically and emotionally.

Our approach is unique:
🩺 Trained Supervision & Clinical Techniques: Every session is guided by clinical exercise physiologists.
📊 Sports Science & Smart Technology: Monitor your heart rate in real time and track progress with data-driven insights.
🤝 Community Engagement: Exercise in small groups and share your journey with others who understand your challenges.
❤️ Expert Guidance: Access expert-backed programs tailored to your recovery.

Whether it’s our 12-Week Foundation Course or 6-Week Health and Wellness Kickstarter, every session is designed to help you reclaim your confidence and live fully after a cardiac event. Heartworks isn’t just rehabilitation — it’s empowerment, knowledge, and support every step of the way.

Your heart. Your journey. Your progress.

03/11/2025

Real-world nutrition wins ❤️

At Heartworks, we often remind our clients that heart health doesn’t depend on a perfect diet — it’s built through simple, sustainable choices made consistently over time.

You don’t need a perfect diet to protect your heart — just simple, consistent choices that add up over time.

✅ Choose grilled over fried.
✅ Add colour with veggies or salad.
✅ Check labels when it’s easy — aim for less sugar, sodium, and saturated fat, and more fibre.

It’s not about restriction — it’s about balance that works in your real world.

02/11/2025

With it being Active Recovery Week, this feels like the perfect reminder. 💛

Overtraining doesn’t lead to faster progress — it can actually do the opposite.
When your body doesn’t get enough rest, performance can decrease, injury risk increases, and the body experiences ongoing wear and tear.

Recovery is where the rebuilding happens.
Balancing movement with rest allows your muscles to repair, recover, and come back stronger. 🌿