Your questions, answered.

RISE offers general cardiac education and peer support. Choose the RISE Programme for four weeks of structured learning and discussion, or RISE Together for an ongoing online community. You can join the community directly or through the first month included with the programme.

RISE welcomes adults living with or recovering from a cardiac condition, including a heart attack, coronary stent, bypass or valve surgery, stable angina or heart failure where participation is appropriate. You can take part while waiting for cardiac rehabilitation, during it or afterwards. Ask your healthcare team if you are unsure whether participation is appropriate for your circumstances.

No. RISE is an independent education and peer-support service that complements your existing care. Continue with the rehabilitation, assessments and treatment offered by your healthcare team.

RISE does not provide diagnosis, one-to-one clinical assessments, personalised medical or medication advice, individual exercise prescriptions, supervised exercise classes or emergency support. Personal symptoms, test results and treatment decisions need your healthcare team.

The £79.99 RISE Programme is a four-week course with eight recorded presentations, eight opportunities for peer discussion and four live Ask Nikki sessions. RISE Together is an ongoing £14.99/month community with peer conversations, resources, optional buddy connections and a one-hour Live with Nikki session once a month.

No. Participation in discussions is optional. You can simply listen, skip a question or share only what feels comfortable. You do not need to disclose your diagnosis, treatment details or personal experiences to the group.

Members guide the conversation and support one another by sharing their own experiences. Programme discussions use provided prompts and questions to give the conversation structure. Nikki is not present in these peer discussions; professional input comes through the recorded education and designated live sessions with Nikki.

Respect different experiences, give others time to speak and let people choose whether to contribute. Share what happened to you without telling someone else what they should do medically. Do not recommend medication changes, interpret another person’s symptoms or test results, or advise them to ignore their healthcare team. Keep other members’ information private.

Do not share another member’s story, contact details, messages or images outside the space where they chose to share them. Do not make your own recordings or screenshots of participants. Share only what you feel comfortable disclosing and respect anyone who prefers to listen.

A smartphone, tablet or computer with a reliable internet connection and speakers or headphones. You will also need an email address to receive joining information. No specialist exercise equipment is needed.

Caregivers, including family members and friends, may watch the educational presentations with you. One named caregiver may attend the programme’s Ask Nikki sessions in a listen-only role, muted and without speaking, asking questions or using chat. Private programme peer discussions are for registered participants. RISE Together also includes an optional weekly live Friends & Family session within the patient’s membership, at no extra cost.

Contact RISE if behaviour, a conversation or a message makes you uncomfortable. You can leave a discussion rather than continue. RISE may remove content or suspend access where behaviour puts safety, privacy or other members’ wellbeing at risk. Reporting is not an emergency service.

No. RISE messages, forums and sessions are not emergency services and are not monitored continuously. Contact your healthcare team for personal medical advice. In a life-threatening emergency, call 999 rather than waiting for a reply from RISE.

The planned launch is December 2026. You can register your interest now with no payment or commitment, or contact Nikki with a general enquiry. Service enrolment and payments are not yet open.

The one-off price includes eight recorded educational presentations, eight optional peer-discussion sessions and four live Ask Nikki sessions over four weeks. You also receive three months’ access to the presentations and programme resources from joining, your first month of RISE Together and an optional Personal RISE Journey check-in.

Four weeks. Each week has two education and peer-discussion sessions and one live Ask Nikki session. That is eight presentations and four sessions with Nikki in total, one Nikki session each week.

Monday at 10:00am and Wednesday at 6:30pm: recorded education followed by optional peer discussion. Friday at 6:30pm: live Ask Nikki. Times are UK local time.

Each recorded presentation lasts 25 minutes, followed by 20 minutes of optional peer discussion. Allow 45 minutes for a full Monday or Wednesday session. You may watch the presentation without taking part in the discussion.

After the presentation, your small group has 20 minutes to explore the topic using five provided prompts and questions. These help you reflect on what you heard, share experiences if you wish and identify questions to take to your healthcare team or Ask Nikki. Members take turns and allow each other space; you do not need to prepare a talk or have the answers. Nikki is not present, and the group does not assess symptoms or give treatment advice.

Prompts might include: “What stood out to you?”, “Was anything familiar from your own experience?”, “What would you like to understand better?”, “What question could you take to your healthcare team?” and “What is one useful takeaway for you?” These are examples of the discussion approach, not a test. You can answer any prompt, pass or simply listen.

Yes. Speaking, answering prompts and sharing personal experiences are entirely optional. You may listen to the group or choose not to join the discussion. You can still use the educational presentations and resources.

Nikki presents the prerecorded teaching but is not present in the patient-led discussions. Your live opportunity to hear from Nikki and ask general questions is Friday’s Ask Nikki session at 6:30pm.

Nikki leads a live session covering general questions about the programme topics. You can ask for clarification or listen to others’ questions. There is one session each Friday evening for four weeks. Personal symptoms, medication, test results and individual treatment decisions remain with your healthcare team.

Patient-led discussion groups have a maximum of 12 participants. Friday Ask Nikki combines active programme participants and may therefore have more people than your peer group.

Week 1: cardiac rehabilitation and understanding your heart and symptoms. Week 2: understanding your risk factors and behaviour change. Week 3: movement and sedentary behaviour and returning to everyday life. Week 4: relaxation and mental wellbeing and goal setting. Each week also includes one live Ask Nikki session.

Nutrition is important, but delivering specialist nutrition education is outside the scope of practice offered through RISE. There is no dedicated nutrition presentation or group discussion. We include trusted resources and signposting so you can find reliable information and seek advice from your healthcare team or a dietitian.

Medication education and advice are outside the scope of practice offered through RISE. There is no dedicated medication presentation or group discussion. We include trusted resources and signposting to your pharmacist, prescriber or healthcare team. RISE does not advise on starting, stopping or changing medication.

Once enrolment opens, you can join at any time and begin the scheduled four-week programme the following Monday. All eight recorded presentations are available from day one.

No. The topics run on a repeating four-week cycle. You join at the current point and cover all eight topics across four consecutive weeks, without waiting for the cycle to restart.

You can return to all eight recorded presentations and programme resources for three months from joining. A missed Monday or Wednesday peer discussion has one catch-up opportunity when that topic next runs, subject to space. The scheduled programme remains four weeks.

Yes. All eight recorded presentations are available on demand from day one, with access for three months from joining. You can revisit them at your own pace. The scheduled group discussions take place on Monday mornings and Wednesday evenings.

An optional check-in to reflect on your understanding, confidence and experience before and after the programme. It is not a clinical assessment, and you do not have to complete it to take part.

Your included first month of RISE Together gives you the opportunity to explore the community. If you want to continue afterwards, you must actively choose the £14.99/month membership. It does not automatically become a paid subscription. Programme presentation and resource access continues for three months from joining.

£14.99 per month. The price is the same whether you join directly or choose to continue after the programme’s included month. There is no separate programme-completer discount.

No. You can join RISE Together directly. The programme is a useful starting point if you want structured education, but it is not a membership requirement.

RISE Connect, a members’ forum; weekly peer-led Live Chat; optional RISE Buddy connections; weekly recorded Stories; a resource library; a separate Friends & Family space; and a one-hour Live with Nikki session once a month. Choose the activities that feel useful to you.

RISE Together includes one hour-long Live with Nikki session per month. It does not include the programme’s weekly Ask Nikki sessions, one-to-one clinical advice or continuous access to Nikki. Other community conversations are peer-led unless explicitly described otherwise.

Members meet to share experiences, listen and encourage one another. The conversation is led by participants rather than Nikki. You can contribute, pass or just listen. The same boundaries apply as elsewhere in RISE: respect privacy and share personal experience without giving medical advice.

The RISE Connect forum is available to access at any time. That does not mean it is continuously monitored or that someone will reply immediately. Live activities take place at their scheduled times, and the community is not an urgent support service.

RISE Buddy is an optional way to get to know another member more personally. You can request a connection with someone you get on with in a group, or ask RISE to suggest a connection. Both people must agree before being connected.

Optional preferences can include shared interests, broad age range, cardiac experience or procedure, stage of recovery, availability, general location and accessibility needs. You do not need to provide an exact date of birth, home address or detailed medical records for matching.

Yes, if both people freely agree. There is no expectation to exchange details, and you may decline or end a connection. A buddy offers companionship and shared experience, not medical advice, clinical monitoring or responsibility for your care.

Stories are recorded personal experiences that offer different perspectives on living with a heart condition. Resources provide helpful information and links to trusted sources. Another member’s experience does not predict your recovery or replace advice from your healthcare team.

An optional weekly live session for caregivers, including family members and friends, included in the patient’s RISE Together membership at no extra cost. Caregivers may attend in a listen-only role. Patients do not take part in these separate sessions. Participation is optional. This is separate from programme peer discussions, which remain for registered participants, and does not provide personalised medical advice.

No. You decide which conversations and activities to join. There is no obligation to speak, share your story, use RISE Buddy or attend every session.

No. After the first month included with the RISE Programme, paid membership starts only if you actively choose to continue at £14.99 per month. If you do not opt in, there is no further membership charge.