Heart for Life
About the business:
Heart for Life is a heart screening service that allows members of the public to check if they have a heart problem or determine their risk of developing one. Users book a heart screening package online via our dedicated website www.heartforlife.co.uk. The tests are then performed quickly, locally and conveniently with a report generated by Jersey’s Consultant Cardiologist. We encourage local businesses to offer Heart for Life screening packages as an employee benefit.
Heart for Life is a public / private partnership with the heart tests performed at Jersey’s General Hospital. Part of the fee is thereby redirected into the cardiology department to enhance heart care for other patients. The website also has a large number of information leaflets on heart conditions for use by all of our heart patients.
As well as providing the heart screening service, Heart for Life is actively engaged in Health Promotion and supports local sports and health schemes. We have a dedicated Facebook page with updates on heart health and links with the local heart charity ‘The Jersey Heart Support Group’. We have a strong research background and are looking at setting up a long-term heart research programme in Jersey.
So tell us, what inspired you to get this off the ground?
Unfortunately, every year in Jersey, young adults and teenagers die without warning from sudden cardiac death. Often these people are young, fit and athletic so we wanted to do something to help prevent these tragedies. We came up with this simple way of screening for potentially fatal heart conditions and our innovative website became the obvious way of doing this.
What did you do prior to starting this business?
Claire was a regional manager for a large medical device company in the UK. Andrew is Consultant Cardiologist at the General Hospital.
Did that teach you any lessons that helped you succeed?
Claire’s background helped develop our network and contacts in UK cardiology.
What’s the hardest lesson you’ve learnt since starting the business?
Getting the message out there for the public to get their hearts checked.
Any funny stories that you have about the business starting out?
We felt we should have our first official Heart for Life meeting at a venue outside of our kitchen. We ended up at a local restaurant feeling mildly guilty but it was a great success (and the food was amazing).
What are your plans for the future?
Heart for Life is currently recruiting centres in England to provide heart screening services using our network of expert cardiologists. This is really exciting as, up until now, there has been no service like this in the UK.
What advice would you give to would-be entrepreneurs?
Set realistic goals and find time to ensure that you achieve them.
As well as providing the heart screening service, Heart for Life is actively engaged in Health Promotion and supports local sports and health schemes. We have a dedicated Facebook page with updates on heart health and links with the local heart charity ‘The Jersey Heart Support Group’. We have a strong research background and are looking at setting up a long-term heart research programme in Jersey.
| Name | Dr Andrew Mitchell |
| School | Victoria College |
| Uni | Southampton University |
| First job | Fisherman |
| Car | Cosworth Impreza |
| Book | Tom Clancy |
| Music | Ludvico Einaudi |
| Film | The Big Blue |
| Gadget | GoPro Hero HD camera |
| Last holiday | Skiing |
| Enjoys
|
Fishing and motorsport |
| Motto | ‘Think like a fish to catch a fish’ |
| Name | Claire Mitchell |
| School | St Edward’s School, Cheltenham |
| Uni | Bath University |
| First job | Pharmaceutical sales representative |
| Car | Honda CRV |
| Book | Paulo Coelho |
| Music | Ed Sheeran |
| Film | Avatar |
| Gadget | iPad |
| Last holiday | Skiing |
| Enjoys
|
Cliff paths and cooking |
| Motto | ‘Count your blessings’ |
