Live chat for BHF Volunteers

Take part in our very first Volunteer Live Chat on Tuesday 5^th October between 4pm and 6pm. Our Chief Executive, Peter Hollins, and Fundraising Director, Aneesha Moreira will both be on hand on the BHF blog to discuss your comments, ideas, feedback and questions.

You can submit your question in advance or on the day by:

• Emailing internet@bhf.org.uk with your question and "Live chat" in the subject line
  
• Posting a question on our Facebook fan page
• Sending us a "tweet" with your question using the hashtag #BHFQs.

We will answer all the questions on this blog we receive on our blog, so keep an eye out for your question and answer.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Hearts in Europe

Our Chief Executive Peter Hollins (pictured right) was in Brussels yesterday as President of the European Heart Network, to chair a conference organised by EHN and the European Society of Cardiologists.

Here's Peter's report on how the day went...

"The conference was discussing the outcome of Work Package 5 of the Euroheart project, run by ESC and EHN and part financed by the EU. Odd coming back as a visitor to the city in which I lived for six years.

"The project compares rates of heart-related deaths around Europe and looks at the policies which are in place to tackle heart disease.

"We had a reasonably good turn-out for the meeting, but were very pleased that both the EU Commissioner for Health and the Director General of the Directorate came.

"The UK is so-so in overall heart health terms, and I pointed out in my speech that everybody around Europe really knows what needs to be done to improve heart health, but the political will is lacking and there are some huge entrenched interests - particularly food, tobacco (still!) and to some extent big pharma who have a strong interest in the status quo.

"I pointed out that we need a much greater spend on prevention, consistent tobacco taxation across Europe and proper food labelling - and I have to be honest, I'm a bit evangelical about this!

"They are all going to come in the end, but the Commission made it quite clear that we have to be realistic about what the EU and national governments will do at a time of economic stringency."

e-mail scammers target the BHF

Fraudsters have in the last few weeks been e-mailing a large number of US and UK residents, purporting to be either a fictitious board member of the BHF, Mart Smith, or John Edwards, the BHF’s recently-retired Finance Director, or Ken Blair, a current director, or Peter Hollins, the BHF's Chief Executive.

The e-mail enquires whether recipients would be prepared to accept cheques payable to the BHF for payment into their bank accounts and then to issue their own cheques for 90% of the value, whilst retaining 10% commission.

It is therefore a fairly obvious attempt at money laundering.

If you have been approached in this manner, please be advised that it is fraudulent and report the matter to your local criminal investigation authorities.

We have reported the matter to the fraud investigation authorities. We are alarmed and outraged that our name has been misrepresented in this disgraceful manner and very much regret the inconvenience caused to anyone who has been approached in this way.