A new awareness campaign aimed at tackling heart disease ? Bermuda?s number one killer ? was launched on Thursday.

Bermuda Heart Foundation plans to drop leaflets warning of the high risk of cardiovascular disease through the letterbox of every home on the Island.

The colour brochures will also be placed in doctors? surgeries, pharmacies, schools, hospitals and business and healthcare facilities. Fifty thousand leaflets have been printed in English and 10,000 in Portuguese.

One in two people in Bermuda will die of cardiovascular disease, a staggering statistic, according to the Heart Foundation.

The leaflets explain how to reduce the risks, how to recognise the symptoms of heart problems, where to go for medical help and how to care for someone with a cardiac condition.

Myrian Balitian-Dill, a nurse specialist in cardiology at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and an executive member of the Foundation, said: ?It?s going to let everyone know what they can do to protect themselves against heart disease.

?We want you to take it, embrace it and let your friends know about it.?

She said lifestyle was the number one factor which led to heart problems. ?Our lives have become very sedentary and for 99 cents you can supersize your fries.

?Stopping smoking, reducing stress and improving diet and exercise are preventative steps that everyone can take.?

The Colonial Medical Group, a health insurer, has sponsored the awareness campaign. Executive vice-president Naz Farrow said many of the claims the company paid out for involving heart disease could have been prevented through simple lifestyle changes.