THE Great Western Hospital has been raising awareness of the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) new Mending Broken Hearts Appeal – a new research project looking into using regenerative medicine to repair damaged hearts of patients.

When the BHF was founded in 1961 an estimated 100,000 people in the UK had suffered heart failure.

But the ageing population and the fact more people now survive heart attacks means more than 750,000 people now live with the condition and even higher numbers are expected in future. To try to address this, the BHF has unveiled a major new programme of research in regenerative medicine to repair damaged hearts.

The Mending Broken Hearts project will involve stem cell research and developmental biology to understand the mechanisms needed to repair or replace damaged heart muscle and literally begin to mend broken hearts in as little as 10 years.

To support the campaign, GWH’s Arts for Health Group arrange for new artwork created by contemporary artists to be displayed at the hospital.

On Friday, a CCA Art Bus – a recycled Liverpool double-decker designed by artist Sir Peter Blake – stopped off at the GWH to promote the exhibition and the Mending Broken Hearts Appeal.

Prof Peter Weissberg, medical director at the BHF, said: “Since the BHFs inception 50 years ago, we’ve made great strides in medical research to better diagnose and treat people with all kinds of heart problems.

“But the biggest issue that still eludes us is how to help people once their heart has been damaged by a heart attack.

“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 £50 million to make this a reality, and currently the resources and investment we need are simply not available.”

For more information about the Mending Broken Hearts Appeal visit www.bhf.org.uk/mbh.