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Pharmacist Nirali is passionate about football
Nirali Sisodia, a cardiology specialist pharmacist and advanced clinical practitioner from Lakeside Corby and Brigstock Surgeries, advocates boosting health and wellbeing through physical activity. She has a focus on heart health and believes that regular screening, encouraging lifestyle changes and more movement are key to empowering patients and keeping them healthier for longer.
Nirali said: ‘It is about prevention rather than cure and we need to prevent people being admitted to hospital so you have to look at the patient holistically, ask about medications, their conditions, their family, what support they have and how do they cope at home? By being able to adjust even a little bit of their life, they feel they have achieved something which means that they're more likely to take another positive step forward in improving their health.’
That is exactly what Nirali did during a stressful period when she was studying for her second Masters. A friend encouraged her to return to women’s football, a sport she loved during her youth. She is now very heavily involved with Arsenal, women’s football and the Arsenal in the Community scheme, which encourages fans to increase their exercise to reduce their weight, blood pressure and cardiac risk.
‘All of those things are part of the programme but you do it in a fun way you're doing it at a club that you love. I always carry a football with me now!’
Such is her love of the game that she has started training as a coach with the FA’s Gamechangers which helps under-represented people become coaches: ‘It does test your patience and people skills. You start off coaching little ones and get to a point where you're coaching adults as well.’
Nirali has also started her own charity, Heart Smart Sport, doing cardiac screening for fans at football matches: ‘Where do you get people and commitment? You get it when people come to football matches because they're dedicated to their club. We work in collaboration with football clubs to bring this testing to their fans. The plan is to have regional hubs across the UK so we can have multiple events running at the same time. And so whichever football match you're at, you'll see us.
‘We want to empower patients to take control of the things that are controllable. It's not about getting your medications, it’s about thinking “how do I want to live my life? What can I do with the capacity that I have?" One of the ways Lakeside patients can gauge their health is by using the health kiosks at the surgeries. They can measure blood pressure, weight and other statistics and record them directly to your patient record so you can track your statistics regularly. I would always encourage patients to walk to the surgery first because every bit of exercise that you do can add up to very positive change!’
Published: Oct 30, 2026