Harry wearing his heart on his sleeve for health charity’s run
HARRY Hamilton, lead singer with Queen tribute act Flash Harry, who had a heart attack in March, is lending his support to local health charity Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke’s Red Dress Run.
The annual event, which is being held at Stormont Estate on Sunday, September 29, is raising funds to fight heart disease which affects a shocking 74,000 people here.
The money raised will be invested into both local research to detect early signs of heart disease and to help establish a new local cardiac care service to support people living with heart disease.
“The heart attack was scary,” admitted Harry.
“I had just finished doing weights in my garage when the chest pain hit me. It was full on. There was no question in my mind what was happening. Thankfully my wife Heather arrived home just as the pain hit and called an ambulance.”
Within seven weeks, however, Harry was back performing. “Physically I’ve made a very good recovery,” he said.
“The hardest part of all though is the mental and emotional recovery. I think about it a lot more than I should — what happened to me, what could have happened and whether it will happen again. I know I was lucky.
“That is why I want to support vital research that could prevent this happening to someone else.
“NI Chest Heart and Stroke has fantastic plans for fighting heart disease and their Red Dress Run is raising money which will be invested in two very important areas — research into early detection of heart disease through a simple eye test and new support services for people who have a heart condition.”
Harry added: “What they are doing has the potential to save many lives.”
NI Chest Heart and Stroke and their charity partner MACE are calling on people to dress up in red and “wear their heart on their sleeve” at this year’s event, which is aptly taking place on World Heart Day.
Participants are invited to run or walk 5k or 10k in memory of someone they have lost to heart disease, to celebrate someone living with a heart condition or to prevent heart disease happening to someone in the future.
To sign up for the Red Dress Run go to www.nichs.org.uk/RedDressRun. Readers who enter the promotional code RED2019 will be given a discount off the entrance price