Shan asks: does the BHF support those with congenital defects or is it just for heart disease??

Hi Shan, yes we aim to help everyone with heart and circulatory conditions.

We have information resources about congenital conditions – available from our website. We fund specialist nurses that support children with heart defects and their parents in hospital, and nurses to support ‘grown-ups’ that were born with heart problems.

We also run Meet@Teen Heart – a programme for teenagers with congenital heart disease. This includes workshops and awaydays to help them build their confidence and meet others in the same situation. There’s a special website www.yheart.net/meet

And of course our heart helpline is available on 0300 330 3311 9am-5pm weekdays for anyone with questions about heart health.

In the ‘back room’ we fund lots of research to understand how and why heart defects develop, and it’s partly the work of BHF-funded researchers that has lead to the incredible improvements in survival for babies born with congenital heart disease.