28 Mar Dr Anna Rolleston 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.

Anna Rolleston, Director of The Centre for Health, 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 covers some of the reasons that 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 explores 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.

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