BHF heart attack appeal in Sidmouth
EAST Devon residents could broken heart mended– literally- with a process as simple as mending a broken leg.
EAST Devon residents could see their broken hearts mended– literally- with a process as simple as mending a broken leg.
A total of 280 people in the region had a heart attack in 2008 -the second highest number in the county.
But a major new research programme by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which has a shop in Fore Street, Sidmouth, could help hundreds of people.
The condition, which is often caused by damage to the heart during a heart attack, means the heart can no longer pump properly.
To combat this, the BHF this week 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 ten years time.
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Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the BHF, said: “Scientifically, mending human hearts is an achievable goal and we really could make recovering from a heart attack as simple as getting over a broken leg.
“But we need to spend �50million to make this a reality, and currently the resources and investment we need are simply not available.”
To fund the programme, the charity is encouraging people across Devon 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.
The BHF is now urging the public to support the Mending Broken Hearts Appeal. Call 0300 333 0333 or visit bhf.org.uk/mbh to order an appeal pack.
