Olympic sprinter Paul Hession is to head up a drive aimed at reducing the number of stroke and heart attack victims in the west of Ireland.
The medical student from Athenry is to become “lifestyle ambassador” for Croí, the Galway-based charity which recently opened a new €3.7 million heart and stroke centre in the city.
The athlete’s involvement forms the backbone of Croí’s “Heart Stroke Week”, which features a series of public talks, seminars, work-shops and walk-in risk factor screening in its new state-of-the-art centre in the Newcastle area of the city.
Croí CEO Neil Johnson said it was also an opportunity to showcase the new facility which has received generous contributions from the public.