The Big Hearted Bike Day
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A sad fact of our modern life in the UK is that very 7 minutes someone, somewhere suffers a heart attack and is rushed to a hospital for treatment. One in four of us will die from a heart attack.
Which of us, or which of our loved ones, will need the vital skills and equipment to get the best chance of a full recovery?
With your help and support we can do our bit to make sure it is!
Most seriously ill patients from Bristol, Bath and the surrounding areas needing open heart surgery will receive their care at The Bristol Heart Institute. Money raised from ’The Big Hearted Bike Day’ will buy much needed specialist medical equipment for the Cardiac Department of the BHI.
To see more about the work being done by The Big Hearted Charity, go to the charity’s main website at www.bigheartedvalentinesball.co.uk
Our Patron – Professor Raimondo Ascione
Prof. Ascione (pictured here with his team) is one of the UK’s top heart surgeons and is the Head Of The Cardiac Surgical Department at the Bristol Heart Institute. He told us that they needed a modern Video Fibre Optic Intubation Unit for the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). On the 18th April 2019 the Big Hearted Charity presented him and his team at The Intensive Care Unit of the BHI (see picture) with that money. Money which was donated by people like you, generously supporting events like the Big Hearted Bike Day.
We are now working to raise the money to buy the next piece of specialist medical equipment which the surgeons at the BHI have requested.
It’s a High Definition video head camera that will enable senior surgeons, like Prof. Ascione share and develop his techniques with trainee surgeons. In a paragraph below, one of the doctors explains how that will help to save lives.
The Bristol Heart Institute is a world-leading authority and centre of excellence for translational cardiovascular research and the leading academic cardiac surgery centre in the UK.
Professor Raimondo Ascione
M.D.(Naples), MSc, Ch.M (Bristol), FETCS, FRCS ad eundem
Professor of Cardiac Surgery and Translational Research and Director of TBRC
Professor Ascione is the Chair of Cardiac Surgery & Translational Research and the Founder and Director of the Translational Biomedical Research Centre (TBRC) at the University of Bristol. He is also a Consultant Adult Cardiac Surgeon at the Bristol Heart Institute (BHI) University Hospital Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, UK.
He has a long standing academic interest in translational cardiovascular research, clinical trials in adult cardiac surgery, global cardiovascular leadership, and more recently in the preclinical development/testing of new cardiovascular drugs and biomedical devices at NHS standards. The ultimate goal of his research is to impact patient benefits and commercialisation.
He has been an active NHS Consultant Cardiac Surgeon since August 2002 (>3500 cardiothoracic procedures as Chief Surgeon; survival 98.7%) with national and international expertise in beating heart coronary artery bypass grafting, mitral valve repair, aortic valve replacement and redo cardiac surgery.
Prof. Ascione is the author of more than 240 medical publications and manages/co-manages grants and capital funds in excess of £49m. He is also the academic Clinical Lead of >10 collaborative national/international developmental projects on 2 drugs to treat heart attack, 4 new stem cell types for cardiac repair, a new heart valve, 4 configurations of tissue engineered vascular constructs for coronary, carotid, femoral, and aortic applications, a new platelets analyser and an innovative smart robotic instrument to enhance keyhole surgery.
If you’d like to make a donation towards this equipment,
the charity’s bank account details are:
Account Number: 63532913
Sort Code: 60-02-05
Account Name: The Big Hearted Valentine’s Ball
FACT – Every 7 minutes someone suffers a heart attack in the UK!
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FACT – One in four of us will die from a heart attack!
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FACT – Your generous support will make a difference and will save lives!
The Equipment They Need
Operating on the heart requires delicate and precise surgical techniques and procedures. Developing and teaching these techniques and procedures is made more difficult because it is hard for other surgeons to observe clearly the senior surgeon’s actions, even for those actually assisting the surgeon.
A state of the art video head camera and recording system allows the surgeon to work unhindered whilst providing everyone with the same view displayed on a big screen in the theatre or simultaneously anywhere in the world over the internet. Using this system specialist procedures, such as beating-heart surgery, can be taught in real time or recorded for later analysis or to identify improvements to the procedure.
The surgeons at the Bristol Heart Institute have asked us to raise the funds for the purchase of this specialist equipment which will be used in all adult and paediatric procedures.
Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of new surgical techniques will enhance patient care in our area and further afield which will result in better medical outcomes for patients, that is, us.
Our Sponsors – All Caring Companies!
