Who we are.....
Why we are here
Welcome to Heartlink and our website!
Have a look round the site to get full details of what we do and our many activities
You can find help and advice about heart disease by clicking the link HERE.
We want you to join us, whether you need help yourself, want to help others or just want to get involved.
Heartlink is a local charity led by heart patients, for heart patients and their families. Based in Southall, Greenford, Hanwell, Ealing, and West London, we provide support and advice to those living with heart conditions, especially those undergoing or recovering from hospital treatment.
While clinical staff focus on medical care, Heartlink offers something equally vital, personal understanding and guidance from those who’ve been through the same journey.
We are deeply committed to raising awareness about heart disease risk factors within the community. By hosting educational workshops, health awareness events, and outreach campaigns, we help individuals identify and address common risks such as high blood pressure, poor diet, smoking, and lack of exercise.
Our goal is to empower people with the knowledge they need to make healthier choices and reduce their chances of developing heart-related conditions.
Our website is 'heartlink.charity'.
See the 'About us' section for fuller details of us and what we do.
Health Camp in Southall a huge success
Heartlink was very pleased to help at the hugely successful Health Camp held at the Ramgharia Sabha Gurdwara in Oswald Rd, Southall on Sunday 9th August. The Camp was organised by the Gurdwara led by the President Joga Singh, with invitations circulated widely in the local community. It was held inside a marquee at the back of the Gurdwara, and involved health advice and testing at a number of stalls run by a variety of locally based health organisations.
The Heartlink stall was run by a dozen of our wonderful volunteers who gave out hundreds of leaflets and heart advice booklets, including our new leaflet about ‘Healthy living after 65’, which is in both Punjabi and English.
We got a fantastic response from attendees with dozens of new people joining us. Those stalls which offered blood pressure and diabetes testing never stopped their work for a minute.
We were very happy to be visited by Ealing Mayor Councillor Faduma Mohamed and local Southall MP Deirdre Costigan, who spent hours visiting all of the stalls.
The event was a fantastic success showing the appetite for health advice and testing amongst local people. Heartlink has begun to work with local pharmacy Chana Chemists and we plan to offer blood pressure and other heart health testing when we run our stalls in the next few months.
We extend our huge thanks to Joga Singh and the Gurdwara Committee for inviting us.
Dr Sahota provides vital heart advice
A record audience attended our August meeting at Ealing Hospital to hear well-known local GP Dr Onkar Sahota give us a talk entitled ‘The GP-patient partnership against heart disease and diabetes’.
The aim of this excellent talk was to advise us how to maximise the benefit we can achieve as patients from our local GP and other NHS services by following simple steps including self-monitoring using basic tests.
He stressed how diabetes and heart disease are linked conditions for many patients and that high blood sugar will, over time, irritate, damage and inflame the lining of our arteries.
As we can only see our GP and health professionals for short appointments, it is vital to monitor our own results regularly. Home blood pressure monitoring, done consistently and correctly with an upper arm cuff, together with recording the results, is vital. Having regular HbA1c blood tests at the GP surgery is key to tracking possible diabetes. Only patients on specific medicines, for instance insulin, need to carry out home pinprick blood tests. He gave important specific advice to heart failure patients about monitoring themselves using normal weight scales.
He advised us to maximise what we get out of our brief 10 minute GP appointments by preparing so that we prioritise raising our most important concerns.
His presentation was very well received by the audience with many varied questions Dr Sahota had prepared a very useful one-page handout of his key messages which we gave to all attendees. A full copy of his presentation can be seen if you click HERE.
He stayed behind for a long time to take individual questions from members, and we are very grateful to him for his time and input.
Diabetes rate in Southall double national average
An analysis of the rate of diabetes in Southall, based on information from all Southall GP practices for the last two years, reveals a severe problem in the area.
On average the rate of diabetes in our Southall population is about twice the national average and for some areas is higher than that. Similarly, data regarding prescriptions for Metformin, a drug prescribed widely to manage diabetes, shows a 21% increase in prescriptions issued between 2019 and 2025.
Whilst many of us manage to cope with having diabetes, it is has a major impact on the health and lifestyle of individuals. It can lead to a number of severe health conditions and in particular, people with diabetes are three times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease. British South Asians are 6 times more likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes than white Europeans.
The data is contained in a recent article in the online paper ‘NW Londoner’ and includes information about the huge number of local sweet shops and an interview with local GP Dr Onkar Sahota.
You can read the full article HERE. (Heartlink does not take responsibility for the views in the article).
Heartlink's key aim is to raise awareness about diabetes and other heart related conditions in our local community – including particularly Southall. We provide information online and in booklets and leaflets, run educational seminars and promote a healthy lifestyle to help reduce risks.
Good advice about strokes
At our July meeting we were given vitally important advice about strokes by one of our most popular speakers, Heartlink Trustee and Cardiology Consultant Dr Harmandeep Singh. The meeting was one of our best attended, with well over 60 of us there.
Significant numbers of people will suffer from a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) or mini stroke, and this is a warning that the person needs follow medical advice because there is risk of a much more serious event. He explained that there are two types of stroke, ischemic and hemorrhagic, which need to be treated in different ways, very urgently in hospital.
He stressed the importance of FAST action if you suspect someone may have had a stroke, as rapid medical intervention is vital to save lives and maximise the extent of recovery. The critical action is to call 999 fast and report a suspected stroke. We should not take people to hospital ourselves, as not all hospitals are set up to deal with strokes. The ambulance service will take people to the nearest hospital with a specialist stroke unit. This is similar for heart attacks.
He explained that high levels of bad cholesterol in the blood is a significant cause of strokes, just as it is of heart attacks. As the blood vessels in the brain are very thin, bad cholesterol can cause blood clots and thus strokes.
There our there are a range of actions we can all take relating to diet, lifestyle, exercise, smoking and alcohol which will significantly reduce our risk of a stroke.
Dr Harman’s presentation was followed by a lively question and answer session.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW HIS EXCELLENT PRESENTATION
Also videos of Dr Harman giving his presentation can be seen by clicking THIS LINK.
Sukh's Challenge
Some brilliant news for Heartlink......
At our recent visit to David Lloyd Health Centre in Heston, we were approached by Sukh Ghosh, one of the personal trainers who works there. In September he is planning to take on the five-day challenge of climbing Mount Toubkal in Morocco which is North Africa's highest peak at a massive 4167 metres.
He has offered to use this as a Charity Challenge to raise funds for Heartlink and to spread awareness about heart conditions in the local community. A copy of the leaflet about his Challenge is shown with this news item.
As a personal trainer at David Lloyd Heston, Sukh specialises in Thai boxing and developing mental toughness for those struggling with depression and mental health problems. He tells us that his grandmother passed away from a heart attack. He has been inspired to undertake this to support Heartlink from talking to our Committee Member Kuldeep and meeting our team at the recent event at David Lloyd Heston.
Sukh attended our meeting at Ealing Hospital on 2nd of July to tell us all about his planned mountain trek He got a fantastic response and encouragement from our members & from our speaker, Heartlink Trustee Dr Harmandeep Singh.
We would like to express our huge thanks and admiration to Sukh in doing this for Heartlink and local heart patients.
Contact us if you would like copies of the attached leaflet to help get sponsorship - just use the form at the bottom of this page .
Please encourage and support Sukh by sponsoring him using the donate page on our website - click HERE.
Charity Walk for Heartlink 1pm on Sat 5th Sept
We are honoured and hugely grateful to the British Punjabi Welfare Association and their Committee for selecting us to benefit from their next Charity Walk on SATURDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER.
Please come along and join us as we walk with them.