In 2007, due to the high incidence of heart diseases in the Midlands, Heart Research UK opened its first and only regional office based in Birmingham. It provided the opportunity to help the many local hospitals, universities, schools, community groups and individuals in the fight against one of the UK’s biggest killers. We’re a small, friendly team and we believe in working closely with local communities, individuals and Corporate Partners.
We have funded some exciting and revolutionary projects around the Midlands including those at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, University of Birmingham and Warwick University.
We also support ground-breaking training and education with our unique Masterclasses, award grants to projects that offer a wide range of activities to improve heart health in the community and our Primary Schools Programme provides free, exciting and new innovative learning resources for pupils and teachers.
We know research works, and we focus on benefiting patients as soon as possible.
Our Impact
We are incredibly proud of our work at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham which, with the help of our supporters, saw us raise £132,500 to jointly fund a revolutionary Organ Care System at a total cost of £265,000. The OCS, also known as ‘Heart in a Box’, allows a donor heart to stay alive and beating outside of the human body and is currently in use at the hospital. This has enabled the hospital not only to carry out more transplants, but also to showcase to the NHS nationally that this technology should be more widely available across the country.
Other projects we have funded include:
- £36,000 awarded to Birmingham Children’s Hospital to test a new monitoring system which may save the lives of babies returning home after complex Heart Surgery.
- £144,148 awarded to Dr Sern Lim, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham – Using wave intensity analysis to benefit patients with advanced heart failure.
- £176,277 awarded to Dr Tom Nightingale, University of Birmingham – Cardiovascular health following spinal cord injury: the impact of an early exercise intervention.
- £52,000 awarded as a PHD studentship to Dr Helen Maddock, Coventry University in order to research new ways of protecting the heart from ‘reperfusion injury’. Reperfusion injury is injury to heart muscle cells when blood flow is restored after a heart attack.
- £37,000 award to City Hospital, Birmingham in order to research the role of ‘monocytes’ in a heart attack. As understanding of monocytes increases, it may be possible to modify these cells in patients to promote recovery from heart attacks or reduce the build-up of fatty plaques in the arteries.
- £9,920 awarded to the ‘Young Hearts’ project run by the Richard D Wright Memorial Fund. This project provides a platform to inspire young people aged 6-11 to get fitter and lead healthier lifestyles. Activities include creative dance and drama, cooking, rock climbing and archery.
Heart Disease Facts
It is estimated that:
- 7 million people are living with cardiovascular disease in the UK
- 310,000 people are living with cardiovascular disease in the West Midlands
- 2.3 million people are living with coronary heart disease in the UK
- 100,000 people are living with coronary heart disease in the West Midlands
- Around 1 in 4 people die from cardiovascular disease in the UK
Coronary heart disease is one of the UK’s biggest killers, but we know research works.
The projects that we have funded have contributed to a 50% decrease in deaths from cardiovascular disease in the UK over the last 15 years.
It’s only with the help and support of local communities, businesses and individuals, that we are able to carry out the work we do to keep those we love around for longer.