Bupa and Cricket Australia call on Aussies to take heart health to heart in new campaign via Big Red

Following a new Bupa study that has found that the majority of Australians are unaware of key risk factors of Australia’s single biggest killer of men and women: heart disease, Bupa and Cricket Australia has launched a new campaign via Big Red, to raise awareness with the a free 60 second online heart age check.

The heart age check, which is part of the new Heart-to-Heart campaign, estimates a person’s heart age based on responses to a series of health questions, compares the result with their actual age, and provides information to help them improve their heart health.

More than 65 percent of those surveyed in the Bupa survey did not know their total cholesterol level and 1 in 2 people (51%) admitted they did not know their blood pressure numbers; high cholesterol and high blood pressure are two key risk factors for heart disease.

Cricket Australia, through its partnership with Bupa as its official health and care partner, has got behind the campaign to raise awareness of heart disease in Australia and encourage people to do the heart age check, share their results and get friends and family members to do the same.

Players Michael Clarke, Peter Siddle, Brad Haddin, Meg Lanning, Alyssa Healy and Erin Osborne all feature in the Heart-to-Heart campaign. The players’ heart age results are also featured on the campaign website.

Dr Rob Grenfell, national medical director Bupa Australia and New Zealand, said the heart age check is a quick and easy way for people to take the first step towards understanding their own risk factors for heart disease, and to educating family and friends.

Says Grenfell: “Heart disease kills one Australian every 26 minutes. It’s the nation’s single biggest killer of both men and women, and about 90 per cent of adult Australians have at least one risk factori.

“Take the 60 second heart age check, and have a chat about it with friends, family and colleagues. Heart disease may be preventable if you take action to improve your health.

“The best way to reduce your risk of heart disease is to quit smoking, aim to do 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate-intensity exercise a week, and keep an eye on your blood pressure, cholesterol and weight.”

The Bupa survey, completed by 1004 Australians, also found:

• Almost 1 in 3 of those surveyed indicated they had been diagnosed with, or experienced, health complications linked to heart disease.
• 64% of respondents said they knew a family or friend with one or more risk factors for heart disease. Of this group, 38% were very concerned for their health and wellbeing.
• Australians aged 35-44 years were most concerned about improving their health to reduce the burden on their family (30%), followed closely by 25-34 year olds (27%).
• Weight loss (22%) and exercise (27%) were the most common lifestyle changes that people reported using to help improve their heart health.

Creative Agency: Big Red

Media Buying + Planning: OMD 

PR: Porter Novelli