THE HEART OF THE MATTER
TX: THURSDAY, MARCH 7th, RTÉ ONE, 10.15PM
Every day more than 10 lives are lost in Ireland as a result of a sudden heart attack.
In fact, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for 1 in every 3 deaths in Ireland.
It is clear that many of us walk around, unaware that there is a time-bomb ticking in our chests.
The Heart Of The Matter is a one-hour documentary presented by George Lee which tells a startling new story about cardiovascular disease – Ireland’s biggest killer.
At the centre of the documentary is one of Ireland’s most successful entrepreneurs – David Bobbett.
A global entrepreneur, he is the majority shareholder in H&K International, a manufacturing business that operates in 80 countries. He is also the husband and father to six healthy, happy children.
In 2011, a routine medical revealed to David that his odds of suffering a heart attack had soared through the roof. Despite boasting exceptional levels of fitness and a healthy diet, he was told that he had a 1 in 4 chance of suffering a heart attack in the next year.
Since this bombshell, David has applied his unique analytical brain to the subject and dedicated huge amounts of time and energy researching heart disease, its extent, its diagnoses, and its treatments. The results of his quest were startling and David is now on a mission to tell the world about his discoveries. He wants to tell the world that there is a better way of identifying and tackling heart disease.
George Lee’s curiosity is ignited when he first hears about David’s experience. He travels to talk to leading experts on both sides of the Atlantic, eager to explore for himself the reality behind Ireland’s frightening heart disease statistics. Many preventive cardiologists have built their world view on the assumption that heart attacks aren’t inevitable – but rather they are a systemic failure of diagnosis and prevention. As one contributor to the programme noted: “Most of the cars never reach the garage”.
George learns that scientific advances and medical innovation is allowing a greater understanding of the underlying causes behind CVD and ever more sophisticated methods of early diagnosis and treatment – long before a heart attack need happen.
George also speaks to near-miss survivors of heart attacks in Ireland about their terrifying experiences. All over the country, homes and families know all too well the devastation that arrives when a heart attack strikes, seemingly out-of-the-blue.
Finally, George critically examines the approach of the Irish health authorities to the challenge of the CVD epidemic. Does the current approach give individual patients the knowledge and power to avoid becoming a heart disease statistic?
Heart Of The Matter is a Loosehorse Production in association with RTÉ.
It has been supported by the charity Irish Heart Disease Awareness.
www.ihda.ie
FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT
Sarah Freeman,
RTÉ Television Press & Publicity
087 6637951 01-2082286
[email protected]