Letters to the Editor from Gogglebox star encouraging people to trek for research

I am writing to invite your readers to sign up to one of the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) ultimate adventures – the Snowdon Multi-Activity Challenge.

With several dates from April to August to choose from, the event will push you to your limits as you take on some of the most demanding, but most spectacular landscapes in the UK on foot, by mountain bike and in a kayak.

This year, I joined hundreds of hikers in the fight against heart disease as I took on another of the charity’s programme of treks and challenge events to raise funds for the BHF’s life saving research.

I signed up because there’s a long history of heart and circulatory disease in my family. My dad has suffered from several angina attacks and had a stent fitted in 2007 after doctors discovered a narrowed artery. My grandfather also died of dilated cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle, in 1993 when I was just two years old.

My dad is one of seven million people living with heart and circulatory disease in the UK today. In the Wales alone, there are an estimated 376,000 people living with heart and circulatory disease. But the BHF is fighting back through its life saving research.

I met some amazing people along the way and it’s a fantastic way to get into the great outdoors, all while supporting a worthy cause. I would encourage anyone to take on a challenge and sign up to become a Heart Trekker – you will be making such a difference to millions of people in the UK living with heart disease. Visit bhf.org.uk/challenges to find out more.

Yours sincerely,

Alex Michael

BHF Heart Trekker and Gogglebox star