“Affair of the Heart 50+” awarded a special prize
23.07.2012 12:35
The pharmacy campaign “A Matter of the Heart 50+” by WIPIG – Scientific Institute for Prevention in Health Care of the Bavarian State Chamber of Pharmacists was awarded a special prize by the RUFZEICHEN GESUNDHEIT Foundation! from the word and picture publishing house. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros. “This award is a great success for our first scientific project,” said WIPIG spokeswoman Cynthia Milz. “Our special thanks go to the 13 pharmacies in northeastern Bavaria who brought this campaign to life last year.”
The “A Matter of the Heart 50+” project was launched by WIPIG in cooperation with the University of Erlangen and the Institute for Lipid Metabolism and Hemorheology in Windach. The focus of the campaign was the prevention of coronary heart disease. “We focused on a region in northeastern Bavaria because the heart attack rate is particularly high there,” says Prof. Dr. med. Richter, scientific leader of the project. “What is important is that the risk of suffering a heart attack also depends on the lifestyle of those affected. Lifestyle is something we can influence ourselves. That was one of our starting points for this project.”
As part of “Heart Affair 50+”, 13 pharmacies determined the personal heart attack risk of around 2,000 pharmacy customers between 2010 and 2012. During an initial measurement, a comprehensive risk profile was determined, including body weight, blood pressure and various blood lipid levels. The risk patients identified in this way were then looked after by the 13 pharmacies over a period of one year, for example through lectures, individual nutritional advice or exercise offers. The final measurement showed that the majority of patients were able to significantly improve their values. Of the participants with metabolic syndrome, 65.5 percent managed to reduce their risk factors. Richter: “The campaign shows that pharmacies have to play a central role in health care. The low-threshold access and individual advice are central arguments, especially when it comes to changing your lifestyle.”
The jury of the RUFZEICHEN GESUNDHEIT Foundation! has now recognized the pharmacist project with a special prize. WIPIG spokeswoman Milz: “The prize primarily belongs to the 13 pharmacies who made the project a success through their commitment, creativity and persistence. We would like to thank the pharmacy teams and of course the around 2,000 pharmacy customers in the region who we were able to reach through our campaign.”