YOUNG heart patients in York are to be consulted for a pilot project designed to show them how active they can be with their condition.

New research shows that young heart patients could be missing out on vital exercise because they are not always given clear guidance when leaving hospital on what they can do.

Yorkshire-based national charity Heart Research UK has launched a Helping Little Hearts appeal to raise £100,000 to fund an 'exercise toolkit' to show young heart patients how much activity their condition will allow.

The kit is being piloted in Yorkshire, and will include consulting young patients and their families in York Hospital, with the aim of rolling it out across the UK.

It follows research by the Children’s Health and Exercise Research Centre at the University of Exeter which showed that very little exercise advice is currently given to child heart patients, with many families not receiving written information or specific advice, despite the positive impact that physical activity could have on their condition.

In the UK one in 180 babies are born with congenital heart disease.

Barbara Harpham, national director of Heart Research UK, said: “These special youngsters should know that it’s good to run around, be in a team - just be active – not sit on the sidelines watching. The unique thing about this whole new approach is the personal exercise prescription signed by a medical profession.”

For details, visit www.heartresearch.org.uk