North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood attended British Heart Foundation Cymru’s (BHF) Research, Innovation and Investment Event at the Pierhead in Cardiff Bay this week and was taught CPR skills and about the importance of blood pressure measurement.
BHF Cymru held the event to showcase the life-saving research they fund in Wales and to teach AMs and Welsh Government staff about the importance of CPR.
Less than one in ten people in Wales survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest but BHF Cymru aims to turn Wales into a nation of lifesavers by teaching these lifesaving skills in schools and communities.
AMs, Welsh Government staff and members of the public were also invited to have their blood pressure measured as part of May Measurement Month, a global initiative targeting people who haven't had their blood pressure checked for over a year. BHF estimates that as many as seven million people in the UK are living with undiagnosed high blood pressures, without knowing they are at risk. Heart and circulatory disease still kills more than one in four people in Wales, stealing them away from their families and loved ones. AMs met BHF funded researchers from Swansea, Cardiff Metropolitan and Cardiff universities to find out more about the impact of heart and circulatory diseases in their constituencies and regions.
Guests at the event also heard from Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of British Heart Foundation, who spoke about how BHF-funded scientists in Wales are helping to tackle major heart and circulatory diseases in the UK and globally. He also thanked supporters in Wales, without whom the BHF would not be able to fund over £100m of world-leading research every year into lifesaving cures to beat heart disease, stroke, vascular dementia, and stop conditions like diabetes from causing them.
Mr Isherwood said “I was glad to visit this event and show my support for British Heart Foundation Cymru’s work.
“81,300 in North Wales are estimated to be living with heart and circulatory disease, 106,369 have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and 37,744 had been diagnosed with diabetes. So often conditions such as heart attacks and strokes can strike unexpectedly and British Heart Foundation are dedicated to helping people live a healthier lifestyle and fight the causes of heart and circulatory disease.”