Home » Sport » Arsenal legend Seaman surrounded by empty seats at Premier League stadium to raise awareness for hidden heart conditions | The Sun
Arsenal legend Seaman surrounded by empty seats at Premier League stadium to raise awareness for hidden heart conditions | The Sun
DAVID SEAMAN and over 200 supporters came together to shine a spotlight on hidden heart conditions and their impact on the nation.
One hundred and eighty seats creating a giant heart were left empty in a crowded stand at Crystal Palace, to represent the number of lives lost in the UK to coronary heart disease each day – one every eight minutes.
The former England goalkeeper, who lives with a heart condition, was at the centre of the striking image to support the British Heart Foundation’s Spotlight On campaign, raising awareness of hidden heart conditions ahead of World Heart Day on Friday 29 September.
The charity has urged people to share their stories of living with heart disease and to raise funds for lifesaving research through donating or fundraising via its JustGiving site.
A poll commissioned by the charity shows over a third (36 per cent) of Brits were unaware coronary heart disease, the leading cause of heart attacks, is one of the top three causes of death in the UK.
Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) didn’t know you can have a heart condition without experiencing any physical symptoms.
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And although 88 per cent worry about their risk of developing a heart condition, 85 per cent were unable to identify all the factors which can lead to heart disease – including included smoking, obesity and lack of exercise.
Concerningly, 23 per cent also consider talking about serious medical conditions such as heart disease a taboo topic.
With many citing it can make for an uncomfortable conversation (40 per cent), not wanting to hear something that would worry them (35 per cent) and not wanting to offend or worry anyone (32 per cent).
Seaman, who lives with an irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation (AF), said: “Heart disease is one of the world’s biggest killers and the worst thing is that you often don’t know you have a problem until it’s too late.
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