With Valentine's Day fast approaching, it's the time of year when hearts can be broken if a card fails to land on the mat.
With Valentine's Day fast approaching, it's the time of year when hearts can be broken if a card fails to land on the mat.
The good news though is that Norwich Union Healthcare was able to mend 440 hearts last year by enabling its Private Medical Insurance (PMI) customers to have much needed heart operations.
Heart disease has become the number one killer in the UK in recent years - not only are 120,000 people dying every year,* but 67,447 heart operations are carried out annually,** according to the British Heart Foundation.
And they warn that there are four main lifestyle factors that contribute to coronary heart disease: smoking, high blood pressure, blood cholesterol and physical inactivity.
This is one of the many reasons why Norwich Union Healthcare launched its web-based health service called Personal Health Manager, which includes tools that it believes can help people stay healthy.
A key element of Personal Health Manager is its Health Planner - which is perfect for people wanting to assess their current state of health and who want a tailored health plan to help them change habits for the better and keep them on track.
Dr Doug Wright, clinical development manager at Norwich Union Healthcare, said: "Now that coronary heart disease has become the biggest killer in this country - accounting for one in four deaths in men and one in six in women - it is clear that this is an area of major concern for the health of our nation.
"If we all take the simple steps needed to maintain a healthy heart we can improve our chances of living longer. Our Health Planner can help you do this by offering advice and tips on how to stay healthy as well as providing information about any health concerns that you may have."
The statistics are issued by Norwich Union Healthcare as part of its continued promotion of its Health Planner and Medical Encyclopaedia health information site.
This comprehensive information source, which is part of Norwich Union Healthcare's online Personal Health Manager, www.personalhealthmanager.co.uk, helps users to create tailored health plans to change their habits for the better and avoid ill-health. It also contains over 1,000 pages of illustrated medical information from the latest edition of the Complete Family Health Guide published by Dorling Kindersley.
Personal Health Manager offers round-the-clock help, advice and information for Norwich Union Healthcare customers and their families. It also provides access to a 24-hour GP Helpline. The service is available to Individual and Group Private Medical Insurance customers of Norwich Union Healthcare as part of the policy benefits available to them.
And Norwich Union Healthcare has set up a 30 day free trial of Personal Health Manager - including the Health Planner and Medical Encyclopaedia.
Simply visit www.personalhealthmanager.co.uk, click on 'First Time User' and follow the on-screen instructions.***
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Media contacts:
Jo Misson or Charlotte Ruddlesdin at QBO Bell Pottinger on 020 7861 2424
Lorna Wiltshire at Norwich Union Press Office on 01904 723 236 or 07788 471 849
Notes to editors:
Journalists wanting a limited free trial for Personal Health Manager, please visit www.personalhealthmanager.co.uk and log in as a first time user with the access code: C216468C6. Once you have logged in, this code will allow you to trial Personal Health Manager as a registered user from now until 31 March 2004***. DO NOT PUBLISH THIS ACCESS CODE - IT IS FOR JOURNALIST USE ONLY.
*Total number of coronary heart disease deaths each year. British Heart Foundation 2001 figures.
**Total number of angioplasty operations, bypass surgery and other coronary intervention procedures. British Heart Foundation 2001 figures.
***The GP Helpline is not available as part of the trial. Personal Health Manager is strictly available for use in, and by residents of the UK, Isle of Man and Channel Islands only.
- Norwich Union Healthcare was founded in 1990 as the healthcare arm of Norwich Union and now provides a range of income protection and private medical insurance products that cover over 750,000 lives. It is one of the largest providers of income protection and private medical insurance in the UK.
- Norwich Union Healthcare is a member of the General Insurance Standards Council, the Association of British Insurers and the Financial Ombudsman Service.
- Norwich Union's news releases and a selection of images are available from Aviva's internet press centre at www.aviva.com/media
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