From the Heart
A card game that helps you stick with your health goals
Why do you want to live a healthier life?
That is the central question of this card game. Many of us want to live a healthier and happier life. But changing our unhealthy habits for healthier ones can be difficult. Often times, we know what we could change to be healthier. But actually sticking long-term with healthy behavior is when most people give up.
To help you stick with your healthy behavior, we’ve designed this card game. ‘From the Heart’ is a tool to help you find your personal goal. Because when you have a clear goal, it’s easier to form new, healthy habits.
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On this page:
How to Play
Why was this card game created?
What is the Cuorema project about?
How to Play
To play this card game, you will need a buddy to help you. This can be someone close to you, such as a family member or friend. Or try playing with a stranger! The results may positively surprise you…
Start by finding your three personal cards:
1. Your buddy draws the first 3 cards from their deck and places them, face up, in the middle of the table.
2. Then your buddy asks you: ‘Which of these 3 appeals to you most, in regards to living a happy life?’.
3. Pick 1 card and place it in front of you.
4. Your buddy takes the remaining 2 cards and places them separately on the side.
5. Then your buddy will draw 3 new cards from the deck. Again, you can take one card that appeals to you most.
6. Repeat this one more time: the 2 cards that weren’t chosen are added to the pile on the right side. Now you are holding 3 cards in total.
7. Your buddy merges the cards that he/
she placed on the side back into their deck and shuffles the cards once more.
8. Continue as before until your buddy
has presented their whole deck to you. Every time your buddy will present you 3 cards at a time.
Note: You can only hold 3 cards at all times. This means that if you see a card that appeals to you more than 1 of the 3 cards you’re holding, you have to replace it with 1 of your other cards.
Time to explain and formulate your personal goal:
9. Now you have your 3 definitive cards in front of you. Next step is to order these 3 cards from top to bottom, with the most important or appealing card on top.
10. Your buddy tries to interpret what these 3 cards, in this order, could mean to you. Keeping the main question in mind, of course. He/she tells you what they think they’re seeing.
11. Well… was your buddy right about what the cards mean to you? Start a conversation by telling your buddy what the cards in this sequence mean to you, and how they help you on your path towards a happier life.
Finally, let’s write it down and switch it up:
12. Grab a piece of paper (or your phone, if you prefer digital). Write down one or two sentences that summarise what your cards mean to you. This is your personal goal that helps you stick with your healthy habits!
13. Switch roles: choose another main player, be their buddy, and get to know their personal goal!
Background information
Why was this card game created?
This card game was originally designed for the Cuorema project as a tool for patients who have cardiovascular diseases. Hence the name ‘From the Heart’. During their cardiac rehabilitation, patients are guided by various professionals to live healthy and get back into shape as best as possible. But at some point, the patients are discharged from the hospital and can’t receive full-time support anymore.
At that point, it really helped the patients to know their personal goal for wanting to stick with the rehabilitation program. But it turns out that finding out what your personal goal is, can be hard to put into words. That’s what this card game helps with. The objective of playing the game is for the patients to find out their personal goal for wanting to stick with the rehabilitation program.
But why stop there! The card game is not only meaningful to people with cardiovascular diseases. It’s a great tool to discover what is important to you, and can give you a purpose to help you stick with your health and happiness goals in a more general sense. The card game is also a great tool to stimulate players to connect with peers, family, friends, or even to get to know new people. Creating this social support helps to stay motivated and sticking with the new, healthy behavior.
What is the Cuorema project about?
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death, with an estimated 17 million deaths per year. The World Heart Federation has confirmed that there are 17.9 million deaths a year from CVD and that they represent 30-70% of total deaths. The World Health Organization and the World Heart Federation have established that it is necessary to reduce the risk of death from non-communicable diseases by 25% by 2025, through action on the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore cardiovascular rehabilitation is a fundamental step in the context of secondary prevention. Cardiovascular rehabilitation programs have been shown to reduce mortality by 20%. Unfortunately, it has been observed that at the end of a cardiovascular rehabilitation program, patients lose motivation to maintain a constant commitment to take care of themselves and improve their lifestyle.
Thus an idea was born to develop a mobile health application that can sustain, motivate and support patients in their everyday life.
The CUOREMA app is currently still in development. The app will be an innovative, scalable, customizable and flexible mHealth system for cardiovascular rehabilitation. The CUOREMA app will integrate bio-behavioural feedback and personalised digital coaches to boost cardiovascular rehabilitation adherence from 44% up to 80% or more and reduce mortality rates.
For additional information, visit Cuorema’s website.
