News
MyHeart MyLife: Patient education and support
SPONSORED: The program aims to improve patients’ ability to self-manage their condition and live well with coronary heart disease.
Patients can access the program at any time and at their own pace, helping bridge the gap between specialist, cardiac rehabilitation and primary health care appointments.
Receiving a diagnosis of coronary heart disease can be an overwhelming and distressing time for patients and their loved ones.
Patients face significant challenges as they adjust to life with a chronic condition, with new medicines to manage, healthy habits to adopt and multiple appointments to attend.
The period following an acute coronary event is a particularly vulnerable time for patients’ mental and emotional wellbeing. The ‘cardiac blues’ are common, with up to 80% of patients experiencing a period of psychological adjustment characterised by changes in mood, behaviour and cognition.
Patients living with coronary heart disease need information and support following their diagnosis to effectively manage their physical, psychosocial and emotional wellbeing and recovery. That’s where the Heart Foundation’s MyHeart MyLife patient support program can help.
MyHeart MyLife is a free evidence-based program which aims to improve patients’ ability to self-manage their condition and empower them to live well with coronary heart disease.
Informed by the Australian clinical guideline for diagnosing and managing acute coronary syndromes 2025, the program:
- complements clinical care and cardiac rehabilitation programs
- provides patients and carers with evidence-based information and education presented via online articles, videos and animations
- offers tailored content based on your patient’s recency of diagnosis and whether they live in a rural or remote location
- encourages improved adherence to medicines and healthy habits
- fosters emotional and psychosocial support and connection.
How does it work?
Over 12 weeks, patients (and those caring for them) receive:
- easy-to-read online articles, helpful tools and resources, plus videos featuring clinical experts
- supportive text messages and emails with practical tips and motivational nudges
- access to the MyHeart MyLife Facebook community for peer support.
Complementing clinical care and cardiac rehabilitation
Participation in cardiac rehabilitation is critical to reduce the risk of future events and improve quality of life.
MyHeart MyLife complements these structured programs by enabling access to evidence-based information, tools and resources, reinforcing the important learning they receive through cardiac rehab.
Patients can access this information at a pace that suits them, at any time – meaning they can find answers to their questions between appointments and when their formal cardiac rehab program concludes.
Providing tailored evidence-based information and education
By joining MyHeart MyLife, patients and carers have access to practical resources and expert tips on a range of topics, including:
- understanding and managing medicines
- heart-healthy eating
- building up a safe level of physical activity
- caring for mental health and wellbeing
- returning to everyday life, including driving and work.
Encouraging improved adherence to medicines and healthy habits
Evidence indicates that medicines adherence following an acute event is low and decreases over time, with up to half of patients not taking their prescribed medicines at 12 months post-event.
Similarly,
adherence to lifestyle modifications is poor despite
significant benefits. MyHeart MyLife aims to address this by providing patients with guidance and motivation to adhere to healthy habits and their prescribed medicines.
Early evaluation data indicate that participants’ improved their diet and had fewer unhealthy days since joining the program.
Offering emotional and psychosocial support and connection
Recent research demonstrates that peer support for people living with coronary heart disease can also help to improve self-management, self-efficacy and reduce the risk of hospital readmission.
The MyHeart MyLife program provides patients and carers with the opportunity to connect with others living with a heart condition via the MyHeart MyLife Facebook community.
With more than 5000 members, the group enables people to receive psychosocial support and connection through shared experiences.
Recommend MyHeart MyLife to your patients
Thousands of people in Australia have already benefited from MyHeart MyLife by learning to better manage their heart health and live well with heart disease. Recommend MyHeart MyLife to your patients today – visit the
MyHeart MyLife website.
According to one participant, the MyHeart MyLife program provided a comfort along their health journey.
‘MyHeart MyLife was a great support tool that answered a lot of questions and reduced the fear and anxiety of not knowing the best path forward,’ they said.
‘It was comforting to know that I was not alone in this journey.’
Log in below to join the conversation.
coronary heart disease Heart Foundation MyHeart MyLife
newsGP weekly poll
Do you think other jurisdictions should follow Queensland’s lead and allow all GPs to initiate, modify and continue ADHD medication for adults?