The Irish Heart Foundation welcomed community support funding announced this evening (Wednesday) by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly as a lifeline for heart patients and stroke survivors across Ireland.

Director of Advocacy, Chris Macey said: “The €600,000 provided in the Budget for the charity’s Heart and Stroke Connect services is the first national funding ever given for support programmes to improve the quality of life of people affected by heart disease and stroke and will have a profound impact on the lives of thousands of families.”

“These supports, championed by Minister Donnelly, reduce requirement for nursing home care among stroke survivors and the revolving door syndrome of hospital readmissions among heart failure patients. So the funding will not only improve quality of life and wellbeing on a significant scale, it will also significantly reduce the burden on frontline services” said Mr Macey.

The €2m earmarked to develop a new cardiovascular plan was also vital in order to deliver long-term improvements to cardiac services. Cardiovascular disease is responsible for around 30% of all deaths in Ireland and there are around 80,000 heart and stroke patient discharges from hospital annually – which equates to one every seven minutes.

The €2.5m for the implementation of the National Stroke Strategy was also crucial in terms of providing vital posts to meet an upsurge in the stroke rate in Ireland.