Peter Hollins
Director General of the British Heart Foundation and current Chairman of the Blatchford board of directors. |
The BHF
Almost two years ago I became Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation after over thirty years working in Industry. The Foundation raises almost £100m a year which it uses to fund research into the causes and treatment of heart disease, and to improve the lives of those who have been affected by it. |
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Heart Disease
Over recent years there have been huge advances in understanding the causes of heart disease and improvements in ways of treating it. The UK has historically had a very high level of deaths from heart disease by international standards. Although the level is still high when judged against this yardstick, it has recently been falling rapidly after years of effort by the Foundation and others. |
Smoking
There are a number of specific reasons for this including improved treatment and diagnosis and the fall in the proportion of the population of the UK which smokes.The latter has fallen from 45% to around 25% over a thirty year period.  |
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| These changes, together with improvements in managing other diseases, have resulted in a major change of life expectation. Between 1971 and 2003 the number of people in the UK over 65 rose by 28% and within 10 years there will be more people here aged over 65 than under 16. |
Obesity
There is, of course, a “but” associated with this, or rather two “buts”. The first is that the incidence of cardiovascular disease, in common with that of other diseases, including cancer rises with old age. The result of is that that there are now an estimated 2.6m people living with heart disease in the UK. |
The second “but” is that the changed dietary habits of young people and their lack of exercise are leading to an obesity wave in the UK . The percentage of obese adults has increased by 50% in less than ten years, and the position will get much worse. This has the potential to reverse the improving trend in deaths from heart disease and bringing with it a massive increase in other problems including diabetes. |
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Activity and Health
Improvements to diet are obviously an important part of tackling the problem. There is very strong evidence that half an hour’s physical activity each day can have a major impact on the risk of suffering a heart attack. It does not have to be intensive physical activity such as running. There are many other activities, including for example dancing that can make a big difference. In the same way, a sensible regime of physical activity can help sustain heart health even after heart attack or heart surgery. |
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There is currently a huge emphasis on physical activity in the young, in the hope that good habits will last a lifetime, but it’s never too late to start. Exercise is critical not just to living longer but to quality of life is advancing years. It is increasingly clear that getting active is the key to staying active. |
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Peter Hollins
11.07.05
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Peter Hollins
Peter is Director General of the British Heart Foundation and current Chairman of the Blatchford board of directors.
Prior to this he held various senior posts in ICI from 1973 to 1992, was Chief Operating Officer at the European Vinyls Corporation from 1992 to 1998, and then Chief Executive Officer at British Energy from 1998 to 2001.
From 2001 onwards he has held various chairmanships and non-executive directorships.
Peter attends BHF Council, sits on the Executive Committee as an ex-officio member, and sits on all 12 of the BHF's remaining Committees.
Educated at East Barnet Grammar School in North London, he then studied at Hertford College, Oxford, where he gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry.
His interests include music - particularly opera - and European history. |
