Heart research programme launched

A MAJOR new research programme has been launched by the British Heart Foundation to find a cure for heart failure that could help hundreds of people in Warrington.
The condition, which is often caused by damage to the heart during a heart attack, means the heart can no longer pump properly.
It is one of the UK’s leading causes of disability with some patients housebound and fighting for breath, making getting out of bed or eating a meal incredibly difficult.
In Warrington, while the number of people dying of heart disease, which includes heart attacks, has fallen from 447 in 1994 to 332 in 2008, the number of people across the UK who survive a heart attack and now live with heart failure has continued to rise since the Sixties.
When the BHF was founded in 1961, an estimated 100,000 people in the UK had heart failure. But an ageing population and the fact more people now survive heart attacks mean more than 750,000 people now live with the condition and even higher numbers are expected in future.
To combat this, the BHF has unveiled a major new programme of research in regenerative medicine to find a cure.
The Mending Broken Hearts project will involve stem cell research and developmental biology to work out how to repair or replace damaged heart muscle to literally ‘mend broken hearts’ in as little as 10 years time.
Part of the inspiration for the programme is that regeneration already occurs in nature. Some animals, such as zebrafish, can regrow portions of their own hearts. Research may be able to make this possible in people too.
Paul Woolley, aged 39, from Newton Le Willows, was born with a hole in his heart. This was discovered when he was three-years-old and he turned blue. He spent several weeks in the Royal Children’s Hospital where he underwent open heart surgery.
Then when he was 15, Paul had to face the operating table again to have a replacement valve fitted. Sadly, 15 years later, Paul was struggling to walk, he had put on a lot of weight and he had a nasty cough from fluid on his lungs. Doctors discovered the valve had failed and he had another operation to fit a mechanical valve.
Paul said: “I was told my operation would be very risky as it was the second time they had to replace my heart valve. When my condition was discovered as a baby, they didn’t think I would make it through the night.”
To further add to the family’s suffering, Paul’s son, Tom, was diagnosed with , a complex abnormality of the heart when he was born in 1995.
In 2002, just seven days after Paul had his mechanical valve fitted, Tom had a major operation.
Paul added: “I took Tom with me as a baby when I went for a check up and doctors took one look at him and whisked him off for surgery, where he had a shunt fitted. He spent his first Christmas in hospital and spent 40 days there.”
Paul has since run the Great North Run and the London Marathon for the BHF.
To fund the programme, BHF is encouraging people across Warrington to support its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal. The five-year fundraising campaign is the charity’s most ambitious to date, and coincides with the BHF’s 50th anniversary.
Anyone who wants to help should call 0300 333 0333or visit bhf.org.uk/mbh to order an appeal pack.
Pictured: Paul Woolley and his son, Tom.