BASINGSTOKE and Alton Cardiac Rehabilitation Charity (Cardiac Rehab) launched its 40th anniversary ‘Have a Heart Campaign’ in spectacular fashion last Saturday with a sparkling Valentine’s ball at the Alton Maltings Centre.

Coinciding with Healthy Heart Month, the Cardiac Rehab campaign aims to celebrate the founding 40 years ago in Alton of a ground-breaking cardiac rehabilitation programme, to shout about its remarkable success, and to raise £5,000 for each year of service to allow the charity to benefit more people who are at risk of heart disease.

Now the template for similar programmes across the country, Cardiac Rehab was the brainchild of Alton GP Dr Hugh Bethell and then sports centre manager Allen Larven, who worked together to provide a pioneering service at Alton Sports Centre designed to help heart patients in their recovery by rebuilding fitness and confidence in a clinically supported environment.

And it was so successful that, with the help of Dr Sally Turner, the service outgrew its hiring rooms at the sports centre and 20 years later, thanks to the remarkable support of the community, moved in 1997 to the £750,000 purpose-built Rehab Cardiac Centre.

Since then the Rehab Centre and its staff have helped more than 8,000 people on the road to recovery (10,000 since 1976) and plays host to around 600 people regularly exercising in the gym and attending pre-surgery and post-surgery information sessions each year.

And all this has been achieved without government funding.

Open to anyone residing in north, east and mid-Hampshire and the surrounding areas, the aim of the service is to speed up recovery for those who have suffered from heart problems and to help them rebuild a healthy and confident lifestyle through exercise and health education.

The service was extended in 2009 to include a preventative stay well scheme, under which GPs can refer patients at high risk of developing heart disease. The Cardiac Rehab Centre has its own gymnasium and machine exercise room, together with medical testing room, housing ECG and treadmill facilities. There is a defibrillator and oxygen on site, and meeting rooms for health-related lectures and discussion groups.

At Cardiac Rehab, all the instructors are qualified to standards set by the British Association for Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation and all staff, administrative and clinical, are trained in cardiac resuscitation techniques, enabling people to exercise with confidence.

Martin Lovell, the charity’s general manager, said: “We are specialists in what we do, helping to improve the heart health, fitness and wellbeing of those with or at risk of heart disease, providing more than 50 hours of classes six days a week.”

To be able to do this and to ensure this valuable work carries on into the future, the centre needs to raise more than £140,000 each year through fundraising events and donations.

“It’s a tough job,” said Mr Lovell, “which is why we have to continue to make everyone aware of what we do, why we do it, why it’s important, and how we are funded. And we are hoping that the Have a Heart campaign we will do just that.”

At Saturday’s Valentine’s ball, thanks to organisers centre manager Denise Ellis and volunteers Joan Mossop and Karen Potter and their team, the campaign got off to a triumphant start by raising a hearty £10,000, which included £2,890 from the auction alone.

In taking the opportunity to thank all those who had worked so hard and donated so much to make the evening a reality, Dr Bethell said that the money would help Cardiac Rehab in its work “to improve the heart health, fitness and wellbeing of those suffering from or at risk of heart disease”.

For more details about Cardiac Rehab or to make a donation, visit cardiac-rehab.co.uk.