We're taking the plunge for cardiac rehab!

Hello! We’re Helen and Kath, and we’re cardiac nurse specialists at County Hospital Pontypool. 

We’re both keen swimmers, and starting on 1st October we’ll be taking the plunge for a month-long challenge to swim a mile a day before work. By the end of the month we’ll have racked up a total of 31 miles – that’s 1,984 lengths of our local pool, or, to put it another way, equivalent to swimming the English Channel one and half times!

We’re not the youngest, or the fittest, or the fastest – so we’re not going to be breaking any records. But we are aiming to raise funds for a charity close to our hearts: the North Gwent Cardiac Rehabilitation and Aftercare Charity. 

And for extra motivation, we’ve set ourselves an ambitious target of raising £1,500 for them. 

This vital local charity picks up where our hospital-based cardiac rehab programme ends. Our 10-12 week course includes exercise, risk factor management and emotional and social support to help get patients back on their feet following a heart attack, heart surgery or a diagnosis of many other heart and circulatory problems. 

And once patients have completed our programme, it’s fantastic that we can refer them straight on to the charity’s ongoing community-based cardiac rehab exercise classes, so they can continue exercising safely under the expert guidance of fitness professionals qualified to work with people with heart conditions.

It's an unfortunate fact that in our region more than 20,000 people are living with heart and circulatory diseases, and currently these diseases are responsible for 1 in 4 deaths.

The North Gwent Cardiac Rehabilitation and Aftercare Charity’s community-based classes are an important part of helping people living with heart disease to get fit and stay that way, improving their quality of life and reducing their risk of cardiac events.

The charity receives no NHS funding for their work. So they currently subsidise the cost of their classes through fundraising, donations and grants. Without vital fundraisers like ours, these classes would close. 

So please, if you are able, do something amazing and show your support by sponsoring our challenge. Even £1 will make a difference! And if you are a UK Tax payer, don't forget to tick the Gift Aid declaration as it will boost the value of your donation by a whopping 25%!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.