Green Hearts are the proud official health partners of the charity bike ride from London to Ballaghaderreen in aid of Motor Neuron Disease and Alzheimers.
The Green Hearts team carried out blood pressure screenings for everyone on the bike team before they began training, and our fantastic doctor Aisling Hillary, who is taking part in the ride, is the team medic.
During our screenings we had a couple of people whose blood pressure flagged up as high. Because high blood pressure rarely has any symptoms, those that showed up as high weren’t aware that they had it. Following on from the screening, they visited their GP for advice and one of the cyclists is now on medication for Hypertension.
This is a real reminder to us all that it’s important to regularly check our blood pressure score, especially before embarking in rigorous physical activity such as a bike ride from London to Ireland!
Our health officer Marie is a Nutrition Advisor and has been helping the team manage their nutrition intake during the cycle. Our Green Hearts 30–day challenge guide has lots of top tips on nutrition for a healthy heart and is available to download for free from the Irish in Britain website.
Irish in Britain’s member organisations have also joined forces to help support this phenomenal community initiative. The Liverpool Irish Centre and Comhaltas Britain hosted a reception for the team where they provided a meal for the team and live music.
Another of our members, the Galway Association of London is supporting the initiative as a main sponsor as well as committee members who have joined the support team.
The 45 cyclists have come from all corners of the world to take part, including New York, Galway, Mayo, Cavan, Roscommon, London, Birmingham and the Seychelles!
It’s a testament to the power of the global Irish community and Green Hearts/Irish in Britain are delighted to be a part of it.