In addition to supporting many charities this year, we are pleased to be supporting The British Heart Foundation.

Today in the UK, 435 people will lose their lives to cardiovascular disease. More than 110 people will be younger than 75 and 190 people will die from a heart attack. From the 7 million people that are fighting their daily battle with cardiovascular disease, 620,000 of those people are living in Yorkshire and the Humber. From the number of people who lose their lives daily…1,150 people will die in Yorkshire every month because of cardiovascular disease.

We’re fighting back

The British Heart Foundation is the UK’s leading heart charity dedicated to tackling the world’s single biggest killer. Our vision is a world where people don’t die prematurely from heart disease. British Heart Foundation’s work has been central to the discoveries of vital treatments that are helping to change the face of the UK’s fight against heart disease. Since British Heart Foundation were founded and began its pioneering research over 50 years ago, death rates from coronary heart disease have more than halved.  But there is still so much work to do.

Our fight in Leeds

Today 84,880 people will fight their daily battle with heart and circulatory disease in Leeds alone. British Heart Foundation is funding over £19,000,000 worth of pioneering research in Leeds into many different heart conditions, diagnosis and treatment.

Projects in Leeds range from research into treatment and care for heart attack patients, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, cardiovascular imaging and diabetes to name a few.

British Heart Foundation recognises that type 2 diabetes is on the increase in the UK and having diabetes greatly increases your risk of developing heart and circulatory disease. Therefore BHF funds a £250,000 project at the University of Leeds that could help us find a way to prevent type 2 diabetes.

Additionally, British Heart Foundation contributed £1,893,264 to help establish the new centre for translational cardiovascular imaging at the University of Leeds. The new technology allows researchers to do more state-of-the-art studies looking at the heart and it will also help attract bright new talent to come work at Leeds University.

Heart disease affects us all

Heart disease is the number one killer in the UK with over 7 million people living with cardio-vascular disease. Statistics show that this is more than double the amount of people living with cancer and dementia in the UK.

From the mums, dads, brothers and sisters who suffer a sudden heart attack, to the grandparents living with the debilitating impact of heart failure, to the 12 babies born every day in the UK with a life threatening congenital heart defect;  Heart disease is heartless – it is sudden and devastating.