Our new mag is heart & soul of the BHF

A must-read for the South Asian community is our brand new magazine heart & soul.

The lifestyle glossy launches today, with some great reading on healthy eating, exercise and our top tips for looking after your heart.

And not to mention some mouth watering recipes to try out...

There are also features on the 'Ones to Watch' from the South Asian community, including Bollywood actress and choreographer Honey Kalaria, and the ‘Indian Nigella’ Anjum Anand, to name just two.

You can order your copy today by calling our BHF Orderline on 0870 600 6566 and quoting the publication code G398.

Players pitch in to help fight heart disease

Eager as we always are to write about anything football-related, today there is actually a very good reason indeed to pen our blog entry on the beautiful game.

The reason is that we'd like to thank the staff and players at York City FC (ground pictured above) for supporting our annual Hearts First York City Jog, which this year will take place on 15 April.

The club are supporting us because one of their star players, striker David Longhurst (pictured right), died following a heart attack while on the football pitch in 1990, aged just 25.

David was the first player to die in a Football League match in almost 70 years. The tragedy led to the introduction of heart scans for players by the Football Association.

If you'd like to join the players of York City and support our vital, lifesaving work you can find out more about the Jog and register online here

You can also read more about the club and David's story on the Northern Echo website

Especially for you...a BHF podcast exclusive!

As usual on the blog we've got a bit of a treat for you today.

Yes, it's a low fat treat in the shape of our very latest BHF podcast called Control Your Cholesterol - The Facts in Five Minutes which is released today.

It's available first right here on the blog, so please feel free to download the podcast now

Simply right-click on the link above and select the 'Save As' option to save the podcast to a folder or the desktop on your computer.

And if you enjoy this podcast you may also like our many other previous BHF podcasts

So what is Cardiac Rehab?

Have you heard about cardiac rehabilitation - but are not exactly sure what it is?

Well thanks to the enthusiastic members of the Stirling Healthy Hearts Group you can now see for yourself exactly what goes on inside a Cardiac Rehabilitation group.

In our latest British Heart Foundation video podcast - which you can watch below - Hearts Group members talk about the benefits of Cardiac Rehab and how it has helped them to live with heart disease.

The video - or vodcast as it's known - comes as we launch our National Campaign for Cardiac Rehabilitation in Scotland, which aims to ensure every heart patient has access to a high quality Cardiac Rehabilitation programme by 2010.

Enjoy the video below, and then find out how you can support our Cardiac Rehab Campaigns right across the UK.

Hearts of glass

Though always stylish, naturally, it's not often that the blog turns its attention to the glamourous world of accessories.

But today we'd like to draw your attention to the brand new range of dazzling, colourful beads and baubles on sale right now in our high street BHF Shops.

Who could resist these pretty hearts of glass? Not you we hope.

Visit your local BHF Shop to see the whole range.

Champion BHF fundraiser Bernard dies

A British Heart Foundation fundraiser who helped raise £100,000 for us has died aged 91.

Bernard 'Bunny' Jones (pictured right), together with his wife Helene, helped found our branch in Garstang, Lancashire, in 1989. The branch has since raised around £100,000.

Mr and Mrs Jones took a keen interest in local affairs. In 1986, again with his wife, Bernard founded a local branch of Age Concern. Their first task was to distribute butter to pensioners.

Sadly, Helene died in 2003, and Mr Jones is survived by daughter Barbara and niece Lindsay.

In memorium donations can be made to the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK.

You can read more about Mr Jones on the website of the Lytham St Annes Express

Flight staff join the fight against heart disease

Question: What do Superwoman, some Hula Girls, a Pirate and a Leprechaun (pictured right) all have in common?

Answer: To be honest, not an awful lot...

However, for one day only yesterday, they were all united in a spot of collective fundraising for the British Heart Foundation at Birmingham Airport.

The collection and raffle were organised by Anna Ravenscroft and Kerry Gee from Aviance, who provide staff for the check-in desks at the airport.

Anna and Kerry decided to raise funds for us because both Anna’s father and Kerry’s father-in-law died as a result of heart attacks.

They are aiming to raise £1,500 for us to help support our vital work in the prevention and treatment of heart disease.

Donna Stokes, our Regional Fundraising Manager says: "Heart disease can affect anyone, young, old, male or female - it doesn’t discriminate. We all know someone who has been affected by the disease."

Blogging, not smoking...

BHF Blog reader Jason Heller contacts us from the States to tell us about his own blog called Stronger Than This, a compelling video diary of his bid to give up smoking for good.

Jason writes: "Apparently it has begun to inspire others, what a great thing to happen! Stopping smoking was the best thing I ever did and very difficult of course!

"Today is Day 21 for me, and I've kicked it for good! Feels great! I figured you would appreciate it and maybe can share it with others. Hope you enjoy it and it can inspire others to stop!"

Happy to oblige Jason! Here's your link

You can also check out our own blogs written by visitors to the BHF Giving Up Smoking website

And it also feels like a good opportunity to (once again!) plug our latest motivational podcast Giving Up Smoking, The Facts in Five Minutes

Little Aaron skips for the BHF

Do you remember Aaron Prior, the amazing little boy who was born with congenital heart disease and who supported our recent Valentine Appeal?

Aaron and his family received essential care and support they needed from our Heart Nurses and have been great supporters of our work.

Aaron's energy and enthusiasm is infectious as he has decided to take part in our Jump Rope for Heart event along with his school friends- a skipping event held at schools across the country helping to raise money for us.

Aaron said: 'Skipping is sometimes difficult because I get out of breath, but I really want to do it. And I'm going to be dressed as a Power Ranger.' (Quote taken from www.portsmouth.co.uk)

You can still make a donation to the Valentine Appeal - make a donation today

Break a sweat for the BHF

That is exactly what David Tame, 24, from Pontcanna, Cardiff, is doing for us.

David is aiming to do a million press ups in a year and is asking people to make a donation to us.

To reach his target David needs to do 2,735 press-ups a day. He can do 1,300 in one hour.

David said: "I’m supporting the BHF, not only because it’s a great charity but there is also a history of heart problems in my family.

"My grandad died of a heart attack before I was born.

"My father had a quadruple heart bypass at the age of 52 and my father’s cousin had a heart attack a few weeks after climbing Kilimanjaro.

"I feel this goes to show anybody can suffer from heart problems, no matter how fit they are.” (Quote and image from www.icwales.co.uk)

To make a donation please visit www.justgiving.com/davidtame

Read the full story here

No ifs, no butts, pack it in for good!

Did you know that today is National No Smoking Day? So why not make today Day One of your bid to give up?

We have all the resources you need to help you give up cigarettes for good.

Check out our website bhf.org.uk/smoking which has information to help inspire you to take action today.

We have also just produced a brand new podcast called Giving up Smoking - The Facts in Five Minutes - download it today

If you do smoke, giving up smoking is the single biggest action you can take towards protecting the future health of you heart.

Time to pull your socks up?

Are your trainers gathering dust in your cupboard? Are you finding it hard to get motivated with the bad weather?

Why not get inspired with our huge range of events - all year round we have something to get you motivated.

Not only will you get fit participating in our events but you will also help us raise crucial funds for beating heart disease.

Take a look at our website now for our 2008 events diary and further information

Don't let the taxman keep your money...

...remember to Gift aid your cash donation next time you kindly donate to us. It means your contribution is worth over a third more to us.

What We Need In Order To Claim Gift Aid

• Your full name and address
  
• A donation made from a personal bank or building society account. We cannot claim Gift Aid on donations from company accounts
  
• For you to be paying income tax or capital gains tax which at least equals the amount we will claim in the tax year (currently 28p for every £1 you give).

Also don't forget that you can now also gift aid your shop donations - read more about it here

Note to self: quit smoking

As we all know (right?) it's National No Smoking Day on the 12 March.

So if you're a smoker, note the date in your dairy with a reminder to 'quit'.

Okay, we know it's not as easy as that. Which is why our Stop Smoking website is packed full of helpful advice on how to stop.

Why not get some support at one of our stop smoking groups or sign up for our free emails, reminding you why it's important to quit.

Stopping smoking is the single most important thing a smoker can do to avoid a heart attack. Now there's a fact to remember.

Stop Press
Our new podcast, Giving up Smoking: the facts in 5 minutes is now available:
View on our website or Download from iTunes

Sophie's road to recovery

Hats off to little Sophie Gittus who's taking part in one of our Hearts First jogs this April.

The toddler and her parents, Kathryn and John, will be taking part in the York City Jog just 14 months after Sophie underwent life saving surgery.

Sophie was born with three heart defects, and still faces more operations as she grows up.

John, 29, a farmer, told The Press newspaper: "If it wasn't for the British Heart Foundation, Leeds Hospital wouldn't have had all the equipment it needed to diagnose Sophie's condition.

"Raising money for the charity is a way we can say thank you to everybody at the hospital - they saved our daughter's life."

Good luck Sophie!

Read the full story
Find out about our events

Get fit at work today

Let's be honest here - it can be hard to fit in exercise with work.

Fortunately we have a solution - exercise at work. Clever huh?

Our Think Fit! website bhf.org.uk/thinkfit has tons of ideas to get you inspired and we have recently added some new downloads for you - take a look here

So make some noise in your office and get colleagues on board - Think Fit! today

See the world and save lives

Sometimes you just need to down tools and see the world.

And what better way to do that, than by taking part in one of our World Experience events?

Why? Well you get to see some of the most amazing places on the planet, challenge yourself and raise money for people affected by heart disease.

We're recruiting now for our Cuba trek and Vietnam to Cambodia bike ride, both in November.

So go on - tell your boss you need time off to hone your team building skills and save lives.

Find out how you can take part in any of our world experiences here

Bloomin' marvellous

What better way to shake off the winter blues than a spot of gardening?

Whether you've a garden or just a window box, you'll find some beautiful plants and flowers on sale in our new online gardening shop

For keen gardeners we've also got a range of garden accessories from solar lights to bird tables.

But best of all, half an hour out in the fresh air planting perennials or tidying up the lawn counts towards your target 30 minutes a day activity.