The British Heart Foundation

The Story of the BHF

Since the British Heart Foundation was started in 1961, there have been vital major advances in the treatment and prevention of heart disease.

Heart surgery is now commonplace and thousands of people are healthier and live longer thanks to new drugs.

The BHF plays a vital role in funding pioneering heart research in the UK, which in turn has an huge impact around the world.

Many of today's new drugs and treatments might never have been possible without the existence of the BHF. To continue this life-saving work for future generations we need your support. To see now your heart works click here.

Research - today and the future

Will genetics unlock the secrets of heart disease?

One of the new areas BHF is currently funding is genetic research.

Researchers' understanding of genetics has grown rapidly in the last few years and this has already helped us discover more about an individual's risk of heart problems.

Our growing understanding of genetics could one day help doctors not only predict heart disease but also tailor treatments to suit individual needs.

New approaches to heart surgery

Findings so far suggest that patients undergoing keyhole and port access cardiac surgery make a speedier recovery.

This is a technique which may in certain circumstances offer an alternative to standard coronary artery bypass surgery.

Surgery may be performed on the beating heart, involving small or large incisions, and may therefore avoid the use of a heart/lung bypass machine.

Our activities

• Investing in pioneering research
  We fund around 1,200 research projects investigating every aspect of heart disease - from causes and safer drugs to improving surgical techniques.
• Supporting and caring for heart patients
  We fund BHF Nurses who visit heart patients with all types of heart conditions in their homes. We provide defibrillators and echocardiograph machines for hospitals, emergency services and first-aiders.
• Providing vital information to help people reduce their own risk of dying prematurely from a heart or circulatory related illness
  We produce publications, videos and other materials for health professionals and the public including children. We inform people about how to improve the health of their heart through public information campaigns, advertising and the media.

Our vision

Our vision is of a world in which people do not die prematurely of heart disease.

We will achieve this through our pioneering research, our vital prevention activity and by ensuring quality care and support for people living with heart disease.

We need you to share our vision because, together, we really can beat heart disease.

Some vital facts and figures

• There are over 260 BHF Heart Nurses caring for patients across the UK.
• Over 1,620 Heartstart UK schemes teach people what to do in an emergency. More than 1.2 million people have been trained by Heartstart UK in schools and the community.
• The BHF invests over £100 a minute on research to keep the nation's hearts healthy.