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Our free Will guide contains everything you need to know about writing your Will. See the impact your legacy can have on British Heart Foundation's lifesaving research.

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Why we need your help

Over half of our funding comes from gifts in Wills. They've been vital in helping us improve survival rates for heart and circulatory conditions by three quarters over the last 60 years. But there's still work to be done. 

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13 babies a day are born with a congenital heart defect.

This means a heart problem developed before the baby was born.

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460 people will die today of a heart or circulatory disease.

Approximately the same number of people die of cancer each day. 

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Deaths from heart or circulatory diseases have been rising globally.

 In 1990, they caused about one in four deaths worldwide. Today, they cause one in three deaths.

How gifts help us save millions of lives

The heart is made from a unique type of muscle which beats over 2 billion times in a lifetime. Its delicate harmony of valves, vessels, and chambers is poetry in motion - and very difficult to image.

Professor Longmore's legacy

Born in 1928,  Professor Donald Longmore is a symbol of his generation’s pioneering creativity. In 1968, he was part of the UK's first heart transplant team. By 1982, thanks to his team at the Royal Brompton Hospital, the cardiovascular MRI became routine in modern cardiac care. 

Tony's story

Tony lost his father to a heart attack. He's another one of many unsung heroes who have helped revolutionise science by leaving a gift to BHF in his Will.

"My dad was still working at 74, and served in both World Wars. He had his heart attacks in 1968. There were no treatments except for bed rest and oxygen. 

"Years later, I had an aortic dissection - where your aorta starts to come apart from the inside out. It has a very high mortality rate, but research had advanced to the point where they gave me emergency surgery and a pacemaker. 

"What a difference a generation makes. When I compare what was available for my father and me, I can see the impact of research. Cardiac disease is treatable now and leaving a gift in my Will to BHF will help the work continue."

The impact your gift could have

But the fight is far from over. Heart and circulatory diseases remain the biggest killers worldwide - surpassing malaria, dementia and cancer. In the UK, they're responsible for over one in four deaths. 

Thanks to people like Tony, researchers today carry on Professor Longmore's legacy. They continue to work towards a world free of heart and circulatory disease. The technology at their disposal includes artificial intelligence to predict heart attacks, 3D-printed hearts, 4D-flow MRI, and genetic analysis to prevent sudden cardiac death.

Your gift to British Heart Foundation has the potential to save more lives than ever before. 

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Everything you need to know about leaving a gift to the BHF in your Will.

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See the support we’re offering this Free Wills Month if you’re looking to write or update your Will for free. 

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