{"id":2677,"date":"2025-03-17T11:46:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T11:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/?p=2677"},"modified":"2025-03-17T11:46:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T11:46:50","slug":"health-and-care-research-wales-and-british-heart-foundation-in-major-3m-joint-funding-deal-for-cardiovascular-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/2025\/03\/17\/health-and-care-research-wales-and-british-heart-foundation-in-major-3m-joint-funding-deal-for-cardiovascular-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Health and Care Research Wales and British Heart Foundation in major \u00a33m joint funding deal for cardiovascular research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Health and Care Research Wales and British Heart Foundation (BHF) have announced a significant \u00a33m agreement to support cardiovascular research in Wales through funding for the National Cardiovascular Research Network (NCRN).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The five-year agreement means that Welsh researchers will be able to investigate key areas of unmet health and care needs in people with heart conditions such as arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), heart disease and vascular ageing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The network, led by Swansea University and Cardiff Metropolitan University, will bring researchers, health professionals, patient representatives and others together to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease in Wales and beyond.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The agreement will see Welsh Government funding key researcher and leadership posts, with BHF funding additional research staff to help address under-representation of under-served communities in cardiovascular research. Its investment will also, support cross-disciplinary research bids, and access to data to support cardiovascular research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles MS,&nbsp;said: &#8220;This landmark \u00a33 million partnership between Health and Care Research Wales and the British Heart Foundation represents a significant step forward in our fight against cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy combining our expertise and resources, we&#8217;re not just funding research \u2013 we&#8217;re investing in the future health of people across Wales.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rhodri Thomas, Head of BHF Cymru said: \u201cBritish Heart Foundation is incredibly excited to be part of this new co-fund agreement with Welsh Government which secures a sustainable future for Wales\u2019 National Cardiovascular Research Network. This latest effort to empower cardiovascular research and innovation in Wales is particularly exciting to me, and of course my colleagues at BHF Cymru, and will help develop a platform for universities and health boards across Wales to come together under a shared mission.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Professor Christopher George, Lead of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/healthandcareresearchwales.org\/about-research-community\/national-cardiovascular-research-network-ncrn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Cardiovascular Research Network<\/a>, added: \u201cThis new alliance between Health and Care Research Wales and the BHF is so important. The commitment to fund the Network\u2019s expansion shows real confidence in our vision for improving the lives of people with heart and circulatory disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis award helps us put Wales\u2019 population at the heart of everything we do, and will be the keystone for turning world-class research done in Wales today into the new treatments of tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former financial services manager turned writer and creative facilitator, Leigh Manley, 47, from Cardiff, will also attend and speak at the event about his experiences after he suffered an unexpected cardiac event almost a decade ago which nearly claimed his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The self-confessed rugby fan, who is originally from Maesteg, had been working out in his local gym when he suddenly felt \u2018as though someone had pulled the cable out of me\u2019 and he collapsed, unconscious, midway through his treadmill exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After being treated by paramedics he was subsequently diagnosed with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, a serious and life-threatening cardiac condition which causes scarring to the heart. Upon diagnosis he was immediately fitted with an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said: \u201cThere is no cure for my disease, so treatment has focused on condition management via a combination of medicines, catheter ablation surgeries, and cardioversion (shock therapy). It\u2019s not ideal because I am living with imperfect solutions to a complex condition, which is why research is so important to me \u2013 especially as there\u2019s the added complication that the condition is likely genetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnything that can be done to advance research into cardiovascular conditions is so important \u2013 there\u2019s still this misconception that only older adults suffer from illnesses of this nature, but it\u2019s not the case, it can happen to people of all ages and from all walks of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Health Secretary Jeremy Miles added: &#8220;The stories of people like Leigh Manley remind us why this investment is so crucial. Through this research, we aim to develop better treatments and improve outcomes for everyone affected by heart conditions in Wales.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Health and Care Research Wales and British Heart Foundation (BHF) have announced a significant \u00a33m agreement to support cardiovascular research in Wales through funding for the National Cardiovascular Research Network (NCRN). The five-year agreement means that Welsh researchers will be able to investigate key areas of unmet health and care needs in people with heart [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190346150,"featured_media":2679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[1366],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wordpress-3.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfwlnl-Hb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4011,"url":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/2026\/02\/23\/advancing-the-improve-hf-programme\/","url_meta":{"origin":2677,"position":0},"title":"Advancing the IMPROVE-HF Programme\u00a0to Support Heart Failure Innovation","author":"meganchick1","date":"23rd February 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Building on the momentum\u00a0established\u00a0in last year\u2019s\u00a0pioneering initiative\u00a0led\u00a0by\u00a0Swansea University\u2019s Dr Emma Rees and Dr Aimee Drane, the IMPROVE-HF programme has now entered a new and exciting phase. Supported by the\u00a0NIHR, the project continues to unite healthcare professionals, researchers,\u00a0patients\u00a0and policymakers to drive forward the future of heart failure innovation in Wales.\u00a0 Since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Study&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Study","link":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/category\/case-study\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Wordpress-1.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Wordpress-1.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Wordpress-1.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Wordpress-1.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Wordpress-1.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2735,"url":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/2025\/03\/31\/developing-a-comprehensive-heart-failure-research-programme-for-wales\/","url_meta":{"origin":2677,"position":1},"title":"Developing a Comprehensive Heart Failure Research Programme for Wales","author":"meganchick1","date":"31st March 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We are proud to highlight a pioneering initiative\u00a0seeking to improve heart failure care across Wales. Led by Swansea University\u2019s Dr Emma Rees and Dr Aimee Drane, an ambitious programme supported by a one-year NHIR grant, aims to bring together healthcare professionals, researchers, patients and policymakers to establish a consensus on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wordpress-5-1.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wordpress-5-1.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wordpress-5-1.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wordpress-5-1.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Wordpress-5-1.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":630,"url":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/2024\/02\/09\/experts-continue-working-to-help-shape-a-healthier-way-of-life-across-wales\/","url_meta":{"origin":2677,"position":2},"title":"Experts Continue Working to Help Shape a Healthier Way of Life Across Wales","author":"meganchick1","date":"9th February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The importance of physical activity for all ages has been highlighted by researchers at Swansea University. As part of\u00a0Welsh Institute of Physical Activity, Health and Sport (WIPAHS),\u00a0researchers at Swansea University have been using their expertise to examine a wide range of issues and their findings are now set to shape\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/WIPAHS-playground-pic-2.webp?fit=1200%2C567&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/WIPAHS-playground-pic-2.webp?fit=1200%2C567&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/WIPAHS-playground-pic-2.webp?fit=1200%2C567&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/WIPAHS-playground-pic-2.webp?fit=1200%2C567&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/WIPAHS-playground-pic-2.webp?fit=1200%2C567&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2921,"url":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/2025\/05\/08\/health-needs-assessment-transforming-care-across-south-west-wales\/","url_meta":{"origin":2677,"position":3},"title":"Health Needs Assessment Transforming Care Across South West Wales","author":"meganchick1","date":"8th May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The comprehensive Health Needs Assessment (HNA) that we recently worked on with ARCH, Swansea Bay University Health Board and Hywel Dda University Health Board, has been pivotal in identifying key health challenges within the region, informing subsequent activities, such as our Health Insights Workshops and the ARCH Innovation Forum. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Study&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Study","link":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/category\/case-study\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wordpress-2.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wordpress-2.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wordpress-2.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wordpress-2.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Wordpress-2.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1874,"url":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/2024\/10\/28\/health-insights-workshop-series\/","url_meta":{"origin":2677,"position":4},"title":"Health Insights Workshop Series","author":"meganchick1","date":"28th October 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In conjunction with ARCH (A Regional Collaboration for Health), we are hosting free Health Insights Workshops for third-sector organisations and companies working in the health sector. The workshops follow the publication of the regional Health Needs Assessment, which provides clarity on the current state of health and wellbeing amongst the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Event&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Event","link":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/category\/event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Wordpress-6.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Wordpress-6.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Wordpress-6.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Wordpress-6.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Wordpress-6.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":547,"url":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/2024\/04\/11\/swim-wales-announces-landmark-partnership-with-swansea-university\/","url_meta":{"origin":2677,"position":5},"title":"Swim Wales announces landmark partnership with Swansea University","author":"meganchick1","date":"11th April 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This new multi-year collaboration marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Swim Wales and Swansea University, and reinforces their shared commitment to nurturing talent, driving innovation, and promoting aquatics at all levels. Together, Swim Wales and Swansea University are committed to creating programmes and pathways across the aquatic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Swim-Wales.webp?fit=1200%2C567&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Swim-Wales.webp?fit=1200%2C567&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Swim-Wales.webp?fit=1200%2C567&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Swim-Wales.webp?fit=1200%2C567&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nish.wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Swim-Wales.webp?fit=1200%2C567&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/190346150"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2677"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2680,"href":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2677\/revisions\/2680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nish.wales\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}