A Bradford nurse is leading one of ten projects across the UK awarded money to improve patients’ lives, after research showed too few women were taking up fitness classes after heart problems.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals has been given £3,000 by The Queen’s Nursing Institute charity for a project led by St Luke’s Hospital nurse Sarah Weller. She hopes to encourage more women to attend exercise sessions after heart problems.

The community cardiac rehabilitation nurse said: “The aim of cardiac rehabilitation is to improve patients’ health following a heart attack or heart surgery, and encourage patients to make positive changes in their lifestyle, for example through exercise.

“Historically women are under-represented in cardiac rehabilitation exercise classes, not just in Bradford, but across the UK as a whole.

“In Bradford, from April 2011 to April 2012, 60 men attended classes, compared to just six women, out of a total of 75 referrals.

“According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) 2012 the national uptake is 42 per cent of all referrals so these figures fall below even the ‘unsatisfactory’ figures quoted by the BHF.”

One reason for women not participating appears to be cultural, specific to some ethnic minority groups, including avoidance of mixed sex activity and fear of travelling alone.

The project will address this by developing a cardiac rehabilitation walk group exclusively for women who have recently experienced a heart attack, have been referred for treatment or are currently being seen by the hospital team.

The Queen’s Nursing Institute’s Fund for Innovation and Leadership brings together a group of nurses each year from different regions and specialties.

The year-long programme aims to test new ideas and improve care delivered by nurses, allied health professionals and their teams in the community.

Each of the ten nurse-led projects, which stretch from the Isle of Man to Jersey, has received funding of up to £5,000.