15 Mar Māori Heart Health: Iwi heart health, a persistent and undulating challenge for all
Hearts matter. With their faithful, steady beat our hearts pump blood that carries vital materials to help our bodies function, while simultaneously removing the waste products we don’t need. If our hearts stop, so do we. Yes, hearts matter a lot.
Because much of the burden caused by cardiovascular disease is preventable, there are many opportunities available to make a positive difference and reverse the statistics that highlight poor heart health as one of Aotearoa’s most pressing health problems.
Join Dr Anna Rolleston, Director of The Centre for Health, in this free of charge webinar as she shares her insights on heart health in the context in Aotearoa. Drawing on some sobering statistics, she will analyse the links between poor heart health and the persistence of inequity.
Anna will cover some of the reasons why heart disease is such an issue in Aotearoa and how lifestyle management from an iwi perspective can make a difference, providing learnings from a kaupapa Māori heart disease risk reduction trial in the Bay of Plenty.
Touching on both western science and mātauranga Māori, Anna will explore the past, the present, and the future, and share key messages for whanau to improve heart health.
About the presenter
Dr Anna Rolleston combines a robust scientific and academic background with an understanding that change comes from within, and that we often need a good deal of support to facilitate that change. She is an inspiring speaker whose honest and upfront message about health and taking personal responsibility for your own health arouses motivation in her audiences.
Anna is a leading voice in health and a highly accomplished academic, obtaining her Masters in Exercise Physiology followed by a PhD in Medicine (Nutrition Metabolism) from Auckland University. She is a recognised health researcher, and has managed research projects across a range of interest areas including heart disease, Maori health, ageing and lifestyle management of health. Anna holds senior research fellowship roles at both Auckland and Waikato Universities and sits on a range of advisory committees and governance boards. Anna initially established the Cardiac Clinic to help people manage their health conditions through lifestyle improvements, including exercise, nutrition and stress management. She also established Performance First to work with athletes both at development level and elite. These two businesses are now integrated into The Centre for Health.