Think of us on your special day...

Are you celebrating a birthday, anniversary or wedding... in fact any special occasion over the next year?

If the answer is yes - and we are hoping so - did you know you can celebrate with us and help raise funds for heart disease?

We have created a special website called Celebrate with the BHF. You can create a personalised webpage and ask friends and family to donate to us via your page.

We can also provide you with donation forms, balloons and wedding favours to help with your celebration.

The website www.bhf.org.uk/celebrate has all the information you need.

Tracy and Peter asked guests to make a donation to the BHF instead of buying gifts for their wedding, they raised an amazing £500.

"I lost my father to heart disease. It was really hard not having him there at my wedding, I really wanted him to be part of the celebrations and decided the best way to do this was to ask people to make a donation to the BHF, instead of buying gifts".
bhf.org.uk/celebrate

Hello! Junkmonkeys...

Bought the latest copy of Hello! magazine yet?

If not pop down to your local newsagent and check out Kay Burley - Sky news presenter - comments in the latest copy of Hello!

Kay is backing our latest Food4Thought campaign - Junkmonkeys.tv - which aims to help youngsters think more about the type of food they are eating and the tricks junk food companies use to reel them in.

Take a look at our site now www.junkmonkeys.tv and check out the virtual world.

If you are a parent - sign our petition today to stop junk food companies targeting your children.

Do a runner on your wedding day

That is exactly what postman Billy Richardson did on his wedding day – and it was all to raise money for BHF Scotland!

Billy and his wedding party - a total of 75 friends and family ran a two-mile ‘wedding day dash’, just hours before he tied the knot with Lesley Diack in West Kilbride, Ayrshire.

The pair wanted to remember Billy's late dad, Billy, on their special day. The couple came up with the original idea of a wedding day dash - raising a grand total of £1,092.

With Valentine's day round the corner what romantic gesture with a difference will you be making?




Listen to our Valentine Appeal podcast - we hope it inspires you to get involved in our appeal and raise urgent funds for our Heart Nurse and HeartHelp Line who helps hundreds of thousands of people with heart disease.

Listen to the podcast

Find out more at bhf.org.uk/valentine

How much salt is too much?

You may have seen coverage in the media today about children consuming more than the daily recommended amount of salt.

New research shows that foods targeted at children still contains large amounts of salt and in some cases more than half the daily maximum limit for a six year old.

Too much salt increases blood pressure and the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Watch a video from our latest campaign highlighting the amount of salt children consume in their everyday diet

We issued a press statement in response to this new research this morning - read it here

Find out how much salt is too much in our healthy eating section

A hearty thank you to a remarkable trio

We take our hats off today to three amazing people who've raised over £9,000 for the BHF.

Peter Lambert, 71, from Malmesbury, David Bourne, 68, from Chippenham, and 70-year-old Richard Brunning, from Swindon, got on their bikes and cycled over 3,200 miles around Rome and Poland.

The trio undertook this impressive challenge after Peter had a knee and hip replacement and Richard had a triple heart bypass.

Their gruelling journey included punctures and a hair raising encounter with a lorry. Read the full story on thisiswiltshire.co.uk

Inspired? For ideas on how you can raise money for the BHF go to our main website.

Heart of the matter

Pay attention fact lovers.

Today's blog wants to draw your attention to our heart animations

These animations help you understand how your heart works and provide an easy-to-understand illustration of common diagnostic procedures and treatments.

See how a chest x-ray works or what happens if you need an Electrocardiogram (ECG).

Go to our main website to now to view more of the animations.

No more excuses....

Remember that New Year's resolution you made, 'Do something for charity'?

Before we slide into February and all your good intentions are conveniently forgotten, take action!

Our Help A Heart team is looking for house to house volunteers. The good news is they only need your help for a few hours......in June.

All you have to do is email helpaheart@bhf.org.uk , tick off that 'to do' list and wait till the sun comes out. Sorted.

Who makes your heart race?

Don't be shy...Valentine's Day is nearly here so it's time to share a little love with your heart's desire.

Our celebrity supporters have been spilling the beans on our Valentine Appeal website.

Presenter Sarah Cawood says she used to have a crush on.... ..actually we're not telling. Find out for yourself.

Okay, so now you've thought of who you fancy, why not send them a little something? Our online Valentine shop is packed with romantic gifts.

Junkmonkeys launches on YouTube

Check out our junkmonkeys.tv channel on YouTube uk.youtube.com/user/junkmonkeystv

You can't escape Sick Rick and his games!

Why not find out a bit more about Sick Rick....interested in his favourite book? What about the kind of music he listens to?

Take a look now at his junk food games!

uk.youtube.com/user/junkmonkeystv

Running for the future

What do you do if your three-year-old daughter suffers from a congenital heart disorder and you want to help fund research into the heart operation which could, in future, make her better?

Well if your name is Pam Quinn (pictured right) you get your running shoes on and start training for a 5km fun run which aims to raise vital funds for the British Heart Foundation.

Pam's daughter Lucy has Aortic Stenosis, a narrowing of the blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body, and has been told that one day she will need to undergo an operation.

Pam hopes the money she raises will be able to help research into that condition and the operation itself, so that by the little Lucy needs surgery the process will be as good as possible.

You can read more about Pam's story here - and in the meantime we'd like to say "Thanks Pam!" and good luck with the running.

Oi! Junk Monkeys

There's some exciting stuff happening today...

A character called Sick Rick (pictured) is jumping out of website pages, yelling Oi! junk monkeys!

There's a virtual urban jungle, packed with games, videos, a competition and more. Are you up for the challenge?

And a group of school children somewhere in London has been measuring fat.

What on earth's going on? The launch of our 2008 Food4Thought campaign, of course.

This year we're demanding a complete ban on all forms of marketing to children. Why? Because we believe that junk food advertising aimed at children is contributing to rising rates of childhood obesity. Support us and sign our petition

We've a Don't Target My Kids campaign microsite explaining how junk food companies target children.

Better than an overpriced candlelit dinner for two...

Our Valentine Appeal 2008 is really beginning to gather pace, and if you haven't seen either the new website or the campaign blog then please do take a look now.

The focus again this year is on raising vital funds to support our care services, including the network of BHF Heart Nurses plus our Heart Helpline information team.

We really do rely on your support to be able undertake this work, so you can help make Valentine's Day mean so much more this year - find out how on the website now

Peter and Paddy hope to pile on the pounds

Phoenix Nights and Road to Nowhere stars Peter Kay and Paddy McGuinness (right) come under the celebrity Who Wants To Be a Millionaire spotlight this weekend - and hope their efforts will help raise thousands of pounds for the British Heart Foundation.

Between them, the comedy pair have chosen two charities - ourselves and the Derian House Children's Hospice in Chorley - to benefit from whatever prize money they manage to win from the show. And they're hoping to reach the big £1 million.

Find out how they get on tomorrow (Saturday) at 8pm on ITV1. You can read more about Peter and Paddy's appearance on the Manchester Evening News website

Staying stubbed out in 2008

Given up cigarettes for New Year, but finding it pretty tough going after a week or so without?

Then have a watch of Penny's Story, below, another of the great video clips from our Risking It DVD about smoking and the dangers posed to your heart and health.

It's an inspiring tale - in that you may find it's not as difficult to stop and stay stopped as you think - plus the long term benefits are pretty compelling. There's more online help and info too at bhf.org.uk/smoking



There are more Risking It clips on our BHF Video Channel

Are you Risking It?

Below is a video clip from our great new DVD Risking It which looks at the major risk factors which can lead to heart disease, such as smoking, high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and being overweight.

The DVD tells the stories of five people - Becky, Bill, Julian, Penny and Ricky - who each have one or more of the key risk factors, and shows how they attempt to adapt their lifestyles to keep heart disease at bay.

You can see further clips from the DVD on the BHF Video Channel on You Tube - or you can order your own copy of it from the main BHF website for a suggested donation of £5. Here's the first clip...

Get on your bike!

Is one of your New Year's Resolution to get fit for 2008?

We have a great idea for you. Cycle from London to Brighton this June and help raise money for us.

We receive thousands of enquiries about participating in our London to Brighton bike ride - it's one of our most popular events and it makes a great day out.

There are only 27,000 spaces for the ride due to safety reasons - find out all you need to know here

We also have a great FAQ page - find out more

Strike a pose

A group of Fitness First staff who work in Whitefield are featuring in a 2008 calendar with all proceeds being donated to us.

The calendars are proving extremely popular, with regular members only too happy to help raise money.

The girls involved in the calendar wanted to do something different to raise funds and discovered that no other Fitness First branch had done anything like this before.

Staff member Stacey Stott (21), who lives in Oldham, features on the September page. Quote taken from http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk

"They have been really popular so far and we are hoping we can raise quite a lot of money for the British Heart Foundation.

"We've had quite a few people coming in asking about them and, hopefully, more people will see it in the Guide and come in to buy theirs."

Read the full story here

Recycle your way into 2008

Is one of your New Year resolutions to be more green for 2008? Well you can help the environment and us by recycling your mobile phones and ink jet cartridges.

Did you know that 60 million inkjet cartridges are used each year in the UK and only about 10% are recycled?

We have teamed up with Environmental Business solutions and receive £1 per inkjet and laser cartridge - all you have to do is pop them into an envelope and send it on. Find out more

Laser cartridges can be recycled by calling free phone number 0800 435576 and registering your company. Your empty cartridges will be collected free of charge.

There are as many unused mobile phones as there are people in the UK – 60 million. Mobile phones can be recycled by putting them in a special freepost envelope and sending them off for free.

Simply call Maria at Greener Solutions on 020 8274 4040 or send an e-mail to bhf@greenersolutions.com to request a freepost envelope. Find out more

Find out about other ways you can help the BHF through shopping with our different partners - more here

Heart HelpLine TV advert - coming to a surgery near you!

Our Heart HelpLine will be advertised in doctor's surgeries throughout the month of January. We want to encourage people to call the line so that we can help support them with their heart health concerns.

The ad shows a heart-shaped stress ball being squeezed by a hand to the sound of a heartbeat. Questions such as ‘Will my heart tablets have side effects?’ and ‘Who can I talk to about my Dad dying?’ are revealed at each beat.

Our cardiac nurses and information officers on the Heart HelpLine can provide you with the information that can help to support any medical advice that you have already received from your GP or consultant.

Call us on 08450 70 80 70 - lines are open 9am-5pm Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and 8am-6pm Wednesdays and Thursdays (all calls charged at a local rate).

Listen Up

About to set out on a healthy walk to kick off the New Year? Or maybe you're just back to the daily commute?

Whatever you're up to, why not liven up your trip by downloading our latest podcasts.

Keeping your Heart Healthy is packed full of ideas on how to exercise and eat for a healthy heart.

Risking It explains how to find out if you're at risk from heart disease.

Details on how to download all of our free podcasts are on our main website.