Learn about cardiovascular health, understand your risks and make positive changes for your wellbeing and quality of life.

Inner Story Health is a London-based patient education programme. If you have already completed a virtual reality experience with us, this is where your learning continues.

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What is Inner Story Health?

Cardiovascular health, explained clearly and brought to life.

We use virtual reality to help you see what happens inside the body and understand how everyday habits can affect your heart, brain and circulation. The experience turns complex health information into clear, practical knowledge that can support healthier choices.

Sessions are available at The Messina Clinic in London in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

  1. Confusion
  2. Clarity
  3. Confidence
  4. Action
See the eight
How it works

Your journey with Inner Story Health

  1. Book your appointment

    Arrange a consultation with your family doctor at The Messina Clinic.

  2. Understand your health

    Your doctor will review your symptoms, personal and family medical history, examine you and agree a clinical plan. Blood tests can usually be taken on the same day.

  3. Review your cardiovascular risk

    At your follow-up appointment, your doctor will explain your results, assess your cardiovascular risk and recommend treatment where appropriate. You will then complete the nine-minute virtual reality experience.

  4. Continue your learning

    Return to this website to revisit the topics explored in virtual reality, deepen your understanding and take practical steps towards better health.

What we are working towards

  • That you understand how your own health works, in your own words.
  • That what you understand now protects your health in the years ahead.
  • That fewer appointments, and less of your time and money, are needed to get there.
In the room

A new way to learn.

Your care follows the usual clinical pathway: a consultation with your family doctor, appropriate tests, a follow-up appointment and treatment where needed.

There is just one new element: a virtual reality experience that takes you inside the body and introduces an engaging new way to understand your cardiovascular health.

Book a consultation with your family doctor to begin.

Book a consultation
  • A clinician in a white coat standing beside someone in a virtual reality headset, one hand on the back of their chair, in a warm cream consulting room.
  • Someone in a headset sitting still with their hands in their lap, turned towards tall windows and a bright sky.
  • Someone in a headset laughing, one arm stretched above them, with blue sky and rooftops through the window behind.
  • Someone wearing a virtual reality headset, hands raised in front of them, reflected in a mirror set into a wall of pale oak slats.
  • Someone in a headset laughing with both hands raised, in an armchair by a sunlit window.
  • Someone in a headset reaching upward from an armchair, beside tall windows with plants and London rooftops behind.
  • Someone in a headset seated in an office chair, both hands lifted in front of them, beside a glazed partition in a second consulting room.
Dr Edward Gonzalez-Gomez, arms folded, at The Messina Clinic
Who is behind Inner Story Health?

Dr Edward Gonzalez-Gomez

Family doctor at The Messina Clinic

Edward is a family doctor based in central London, with more than 25 years of clinical experience. He created Inner Story Health with a simple purpose:

“I want to help my patients see what is happening inside their bodies, understand their health more clearly, remember what they learn, change their habits and feel supported”

Inner Story Health is an innovation supported by the NHS Innovation Service. Through the programme, Dr Gonzalez-Gomez is addressing an important challenge in UK healthcare: helping patients understand cardiovascular risk and feel empowered to make informed, positive changes to their health.

NHS Innovation Service
What shapes your cardiovascular health?

Eight important factors. One connected story.

Sleep, physical activity, stress, smoking, dietary fats, sugar, blood pressure and weight can all influence the health of your heart, brain and circulation. Explore each one, understand what happens inside your body and discover the changes that can make a difference.

The eight topics

Everything that can influence your cardiovascular health, brought together in one place.

Each area offers a short, clear explanation and a practical activity to try. Explore them in any order, focus on what matters most to you and return whenever you wish.

The clinic

If you have not visited us yet:

Book a 30-minute initial consultation at The Messina Clinic in London. You will receive a warm welcome, have time to talk without feeling rushed and be supported in your preferred language: English, Spanish or Portuguese.

Where
The Messina Clinic, London
How long
About 30 minutes
Languages
English Spanish Portuguese

If you have already visited us:

Your learning continues here. Revisit any topic whenever you wish, explore the information at your own pace.

Book a consultation Ask a question