Mark's epic bid to beat heart disease

A soldier is following in the famous footsteps of Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen to raise thousands of pounds for the British Heart Foundation.

Mark Langridge (pictured right), who served for ten years with 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment, is aiming to trek across Antartica to the South Pole and back, on his own - and totally unsupported by anyone else - in 80 days or less.

Mark's cold weather experience was gained during several winter tours of Norway on NATO exercises, together with operations in mountainous areas of other countries. He is still serving with the regular Army.

The expedition, whose patron is Prince Charles, is due to start on 1 November 2008, and Mark will also be raising money for Debra, a charity for people with the genetic skin blistering condition Epidermolysis Bullosa, and Cancer Research UK.

To find out more about Mark's epic fundraising effort and how you can support him visit his website here

Watch Your Own Heart Attack - what you've said...

Comments have been pouring in to us since the screening of our special two-minute Watch Your Own Heart Attack advert (pictured right) on Sunday night TV.

Some of you are criticial of the ad and its style. But many more are extremely positive and have thanked us for spelling out exactly what the symptoms of a heart attack are, and what you should do if you think you are having one.

You can see some of the comments posted to the video which is on our BHF YouTube channel, but here are just a few of the ones we have picked out so far...

"Intense advert. Saw the shorter version on ITV and it felt like David Lynch had taken over Midsomer Murders! Shame about the posters, but lots of nice details in performance and direction. Thanks for posting. Think i'll send it to my dad to scare him into eating fewer sausage rolls!" victorshade4

"Everyone is commenting about the film and the hype and impact (or lack of) that it has had on them. But no one has said or asked "Now I know what a heart attack is what can I do to help a victim until the ambulance arrives?". The answer. Learn to do CPR properly or become a Community First Responder for your local area." devvy1260

"He was scary but i guess thats the point. So are heart attacks. Sent it to my dad and he said it almost gave him a heart attack watching it. Pretty great advert all in all." slleilani

"I honestly feel that people are naive to the symptoms of a heart attack and things like this will save many lives, who cares about hype and costs of a public service film, if it saves One person that it's done it's job." nikgrey

"Wish everyone did know this!!! I act as a First Responder in my local area and have had to try a resus a person that has had 'indigestion' for 2 days... Guess what?? It wasn't indigestion, he didn't know the message and he did die! The more people that get the message the better... No-one minds attending a call to a suspected heart attack / chest pains and finding it isn't. Doubt does kill...Leaflets clearly don't work, this is a good strategy (mass viewing and spreading the word)." AndyWycoll

"This video is ... very negative. It would probably cause more heart attacks then help stop it." djsuperstar717

If you watched our ad and have something you'd like to say about it - good or bad - then please leave a comment below...

Did you miss it?

Tonight at 9:17pm we showed the most important two minutes of TV you'll ever see. But if you missed it - don't worry because you can watch it again online. Visit bhf.org.uk/2minutes

You can also show the video on your website using this embedding code from YouTube:
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LUt1xXASm_s&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LUt1xXASm_s&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

If you'd like to tell us what you thought of the film please leave a blog comment.

If you are experiencing heart attack symptoms it's vital that you call 999 immediately. But if you'd like more general information you can speak to us from 9am on Monday morning by calling call the Heart HelpLine on 08450 70 80 70

Got a story to share?

Have you been affected by heart disease? Would you be willing to share your story to help us raise vital funds and save lives?

We're on the hunt for real life stories. All you need to do is go to the Share Your Story page on our website and fill in the online form. A member of BHF staff will then get in touch with you.

Find out more at Share Your Story......we look forward to hearing from you!

Steven Berkoff gives you a heart attack

Actor Steven Berkoff joined our Director of Policy and Communications, Betty McBride, on the GMTV sofa this morning to talk about the most important two minutes of TV you'll ever see.

The actor features in our Watch Your Own Heart Attack event being broadcast on August 10th at 9:17pm on ITV1.

The Beverley Hills Cop actor said he was delighted to have featured in the film which he said, "had real relevance, importance and can affect the lives of many".

Watch the interview on the GMTV website now

Book a reminder to Watch Your Own Heart Attack at www.2minutes.org.uk

Hollywood heart attacks ain't real

Think you know what having a heart attack is like? Well forget the Hollywood heart attack - actor clutching his chest and collapsing to the ground.

In real life it isn't like this - which is why we're inviting you to watch your own heart attack on Sunday August 10th at 9.17pm on ITV1. Then view again on our Heart Attack website after that time.

Forget Hollywood - go to http://www.2minutes.org.uk/

He's got science in his blood!

As the nation's heart charity, one of the main focuses of the British Heart Foundation is investing in pioneering research.

We fund around 1,200 research projects investigating every aspect of heart disease - from causes and safer drugs to improving surgical techniques.

One of the BHF's projects is at the University of Birmingham Medical School, where a team of researchers are investigating human platelets. When blood vessels are damaged, for example if you cut yourself, platelets become sticky and plug the wound.

By learning more about how this happens, the team could uncover new treatments for strokes and heart disease.

Senior research scientist Dr Yotis Senis is one of the researchers on the project. He talks to the Guardian about what it's like being a scientist and what brought about his passion for blood.

Read the interview with Dr Senis in The Guardian.

Got something to say about heart research? Post a comment and let us know what you think.