The Mayor's charities

British Heart Foundation

Most of us have known someone who has suffered a heart attack or indeed lost a friend or loved one through heart disease. For over 50 years the BHF has pioneered research which has transformed the lives of millions of people living with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Before the 1970s, heart attacks were poorly understood, there were no medicines to treat them and most victims lost their lives. BHF Professor Michael Davis carried out valuable research that proved that heart attacks are caused by a blood clot in a coronary artery. This ground-breaking work paved the way for clot-busting drugs.

Now, although each year 175,000 people in the UK may still suffer a heart attack, thanks to modern treatments built on BHF discovery, around seven out of 10 will survive.

However, CVD still kills around one in four people in the UK, stealing them away from their families and loved ones. There are also over seven million people, young, old and in-between, who live with the burden of CVD, so funds are vital to enable BHF's research and to continue the fight against heart disease.

Locally, the Guildford and Godalming Branch of the BHF has been a vanguard organisation, whose volunteers have worked tirelessly for many years, to raise much needed funds to support the work of the Cardiovascular Department at the Royal Surrey County Hospital.

The volunteers have raised thousands and thousands of pounds which have paid for heart monitoring and other essential equipment for the hospital.

The Mayor will be working in partnership with these volunteers to support their work and to help capitalise on their outstanding achievements.

For more information about BHF, visit the British Heart Foundation website.