Heart Research UK

Did You Know?

• Since 2012, Heart Research UK has funded 'Masterclasses' where leading experts train health professionals; by the end of 2018, 15 masterclasses had taken place.
• Since 2009, Heart Research UK has partnered with Subway to support low-fat options and runs the Heart Research UK and Subway Healthy Heart grant scheme.

Foundation and milestones

Heart Research UK was founded in Leeds in 1967 as the 'National Heart Research Fund' by cardiovascular surgeon Mr David Watson, who aimed to make heart surgery safer. After a young patient died following a long operation, Mr Watson launched an appeal with the Yorkshire Evening Post to raise funds for research. The charity funded the first hospital-based cardiac research unit in the UK at Killingbeck Hospital in Leeds, where Mr Watson developed a tissue valve in 1976 that became a prototype for many valves used today. In 1979, it funded six of the first eight successful heart transplants in the UK, performed by Sir Terence English at Papworth Hospital. In 2000, it funded the implantation of the world's first permanent artificial heart into Peter Houghton at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford; Mr Houghton holds a Guinness World Record for the longest surviving artificial heart transplant patient. The organization changed its name to Heart Research UK in 2005 and later opened a regional office in Birmingham.

Grants

Heart Research UK funds medical research through a grant programme. Novel and Emerging Technologies (NET) Grants of up to £250,000 support projects developing new technologies to diagnose, treat, and prevent heart disease. Translational Research Project (TRP) Grants fund work that turns breakthroughs into practical tools for patient care. The charity also awards dedicated grants for Northern Ireland and, from 2018, a similar dedicated grant for Scotland.

Research

Current research funded by Heart Research UK includes a project with University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital to develop faster imaging techniques for babies with congenital heart disease (CHD). Another project at the University of Leicester uses electrocardiograms (ECGs) to assess risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). A project at the Bristol Heart Institute is exploring the use of stem cells from umbilical cords to repair the hearts of babies born with CHD.