The British Heart Foundation (BHF) charity is looking to capitalise on advances in AI, data science, genomics, and technology among a rising tide of heart disease.
As the UK’s biggest independent funder of cardiovascular research, the BHF wants to expand its research, nurture the next generation of researchers, and set up collaborations to tackle the biggest challenges in heart disease.
In particular, partnerships with the potential for transformational effects on cardiovascular research will be developed and strengthened.
This includes the MRC/BHF Centre of Research Excellence in Advanced Cardiac Therapies, which will receive up to £50 million investment from the Medical Research Council and the BHF over a maximum of 14 years to pioneer gene-therapy treatments to repair and regenerate damaged hearts.
On top of this, the BHF will focus on backing the UK’s cardiovascular research workforce. Funding schemes will be simplified whilst maintaining commitments to funding world leaders in cardiovascular science.
The new strategy comes amid the worst start to a decade for heart health for 50 years. New BHF analysis shows that there has been a rise in the rate and number of deaths in working-age adults aged 20-64 from cardiovascular disease in the UK.
In 2023 the rate rose to 55 deaths per 100,000, from 49 per 100,000 in 2019 – the first sustained increase in at least a generation. Deaths in working-age adults rose by 18 per cent, from 18,693 in 2019, to 21,975 in 2023, averaging 420 a week.
The charity is focusing its research funding in cutting-edge areas of science to help revolutionise how the UK prevents and treats cardiovascular disease.
Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We’re at a pivotal moment in the British Heart Foundation’s history.
“The number of people dying from cardiovascular disease has nearly halved since the BHF was established 64 years ago, with much of this incredible progress driven by our research.
“But these diseases remain one of the biggest, yet most preventable, causes of premature death and ill health in the UK. Our new strategy will see us go further than ever before to accelerate advances and take on the health challenges we face today.”
The BHF strategy aims to:
- help revolutionise heart disease prevention to stop more heart attacks and strokes before they strike.
- discover groundbreaking treatments and cures.
- ensure people with heart disease get the information, care and support they need.
The charity will also:
- increase investment in research and innovation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, data science, behavioural sciences and engineering, and build capacity in these areas to develop a future-fit workforce.
- initiate transformational partnerships with other funders, industry and patients to take on the biggest challenges in cardiovascular health and increase the UK’s investment in cardiovascular research.
- launch a new series of Grand Challenges, offering awards of up to £10m, to make rapid advances in areas of unmet need or where there is significant opportunity.
- increase its investment and support for the translation of research discoveries into new diagnostics and treatments that will benefit patients.
- ensure that BHF-funded scientists and clinicians have the skills and tools required to guide discoveries into patient care, so they become the diagnostic tests and treatments of tomorrow.
- enhance its support for piloting healthcare innovations with the potential to improve care for people living with cardiovascular disease.
The strategy is available here.
