大象传媒

Heart and circulatory diseases affect people of all ages. They kill 1 in 4 people in the听UK,听and cause heartbreak in homes on every street. At the British Heart Foundation, our researchers are working to find cures and treatments, to protect the people we love.

The BHF is built on breakthroughs, from heart transplants to听clot busting听drugs and pacemakers. These breakthroughs were born from visionary medical听research,听and funded with your generous donations.

We research all heart and circulatory diseases and the things that cause them. Heart diseases, stroke, vascular dementia, diabetes and many more. All connected, all under our microscope.

We鈥檝e come a long way. But with seven million people in the UK living with the burden of heart and circulatory diseases, we still have a lot further to go. For the majority of people who suffer a stroke, there is currently no proven treatment to limit its disabling effects. Michelle in our film was left with weakness down one side of her body, and stroke robs others of their voice. And for people diagnosed with vascular dementia, there is no treatment to reverse the damage to the brain. Terry, who appears in our film, even forgot his son鈥檚 name.

Please donate to our appeal, and together we will keep loved ones together and beat the heartbreak caused by the world鈥檚 biggest killers.听

I鈥檓 really听honoured听to present the 大象传媒 Lifeline Appeal for the British Heart Foundation. The British Heart Foundation is a charity really close to my heart as I lost my dad to a heart attack when I was seventeen years old.

In early 2002, my dad, David, started to get chest pains but he put this down to overdoing it. A few weeks later he suffered a heart attack and three days later he died. He was only 52. This came as a complete shock to me and my family. My dad didn鈥檛 smoke and only occasionally drank, he was physically fit and ate well but he still died of a heart attack.

My dad was my friend, my protector and my hero. I couldn鈥檛 quite believe he was gone. I鈥檝e been supporting the British Heart Foundation ever since to stop families like mine suffering the heartbreak of losing a loved one. The charity is funding amazing听life-saving听research into heart and circulatory diseases to help beat heartbreak forever.

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Max was a healthy, sporty little boy who loved playing football with his older brother Harry. But in autumn 2016 he developed a persistent cough. It turned out to be a life-threatening heart condition that was attacking the muscle in his heart, making it weak and unable to pump effectively. Max started to go downhill fast and at the tender age of eight, doctors gave his family the devastating news that a heart transplant was his only chance of life.

By January 2017, having just turned nine, Max was placed on the urgent transplant list for a heart transplant. A mechanical heart fitted the following month kept him alive until a donor could be found.

In August his family got the news that a donor heart had become available. The agonising wait was over. After ten days in intensive care, Max started on a slow journey of recovery, spending another five weeks at The Freeman Hospital. He went home in mid-September 2017,听 in time to celebrate a family Christmas with his new heart.

Terry鈥檚 stroke happened in his sleep. When he woke he had a headache, and couldn鈥檛 feel his left arm. He recovered fairly quickly but his speech took a while to come back.

He noticed he was struggling to remember names, and couldn鈥檛 recognise the list of contacts in his mobile phone. But then things took a turn for the听worse when during an entire 25-minute conversation with his son, he couldn鈥檛听remember his听name听-听Jake.听Terry went to his doctor in search of answers and was diagnosed with vascular dementia,听which he had developed as a result of a stroke.听

A former DJ and manager of small bands, Terry later became a town听councillor. But his dementia diagnosis meant he had to give up that role. He now pours his energy into raising听awareness of vascular dementia,听a condition that currently has no cure.

Michelle was in her mid-twenties when she discovered she had been living with an undiagnosed heart condition. Since then Michelle, mum of three, has had open heart surgery twice and a pacemaker fitted. She was also diagnosed with an abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation, putting her at greater risk of stroke.

A few years later, during birthday celebrations for her daughter, Chelle, Michelle suffered a mini-stroke at home. Her eldest son Deniro found her collapsed in the bedroom and dialled 999. While they waited for the ambulance Chelle collected up Michelle鈥檚 medication, putting it in a bag to be taken to hospital.

Michelle鈥檚 recovery was slow and she needed rehab to help with her speech and to strengthen the left side of her body. Despite her ongoing health problems, Michelle is determined to get on with life. She is about to fulfill a 15-year ambition by opening her own online styling consultancy.