British Society for Heart Failure (BSH) launches new film called: ‘the next 25 years’ to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the society

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  BSH celebrates 25 years of the society at this year’s Annual Meeting 1-3 December
• BSH introduces new film to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the society
• Tik Tok phenomenon, ‘The Rapping Science Teacher’, Matt Green, raps the lyrics which tell the heart failure story across time
• Animation genius, Paul MacKay-Thomas manipulates the images through the storyline
• Heart failure is a growing societal issue: at least 1 million people are affected by heart failure in the UK with a further 200,000 newly diagnosed each year^[i]
• The British Society for Heart Failure ‘Freedom from Failure’ – The F word’ campaign raises awareness of self-recognition of the common symptoms of heart failure (fatigue, feeling breathless, filling with fluid) and seeking medical advice early to improve outcomes

oday, in the opening address of the British Society for Heart Failure’s 25^th Annual Meeting, Professor Roy Gardner, Chair of the BSH, Consultant Cardiologist at The Golden Jubilee Hospital, Glasgow, will launch a short film (2 minutes: 20 seconds) titled ‘the next 25 years’ (synonymous with the 25th Annual Meeting), to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the society, to capture some of the key milestones paving the way to heart failure becoming one of the success stories of modern medicine and to highlight some of the signposts towards the future.

TO VIEW THE FILM ACCESS THIS LINK

Professor Gardner commented: “The BSH Annual Meeting is such a special event, not only because it is the UK heart failure event of the year, but this year, the 25^th anniversary, is a significant milestone which must be recognised. The wealth and range of content to be presented over the 2-day programme is intended to enhance the learning and information gathering experience for all present and on-line. We are bringing together clinical leaders from across the 4 nations of the UK, and abroad, to share information and the future vision of heart failure care. Our programme seeks to both address the challenges before us as well as highlight the advances we have seen in the innovation of our peers. Hence ‘the next 25 years’ film. And, for the first time in the history of BSH, 25 Fellowships will be awarded to our ‘Hall of Fame’, those who have made a significant contribution to heart failure care over the past 25 years and more.”

Further attractions in the BSH 25^th Annual Meeting 2022 programme include:

Keynotes:

• The JACC-HF Lecture on the future of xenotransplantation: to be delivered by Professors Chris MacGregor MD, Minnesota (in person) and Bartley Griffith MD, Maryland (virtual)
• Heart Failure: Workforce, Politics and Planning to be delivered by Professor Alison Leary, London
• The Next 25 years – what are we looking forward to? To be delivered by Professor Andrew Clark, Hull and BSH Research Committee

Awards:

• BSH Research Fellows Awards – 2 awards open to healthcare professionals or scientists. Intended to support and inspire new talented researchers, dedicated to improving the lives of people with heart failure and further underpin our vision, to make heart failure a national priority.
• Early Investigator Award for BSH members (physicians in registrar/training posts, nurses, and other healthcare professionals); three abstracts judged on originality, methodology and clinical significance will be chosen for oral presentation during the Annual Meeting.
• Lynda Blue Award which recognises professionals who have demonstrated excellence in heart failure care in memory of the pioneering Glaswegian nurse who founded heart failure specialist nursing.

Posters:

• BSH Research Investigator Network: to raise awareness of UK multi-centre heart failure related studies.
• Heart Failure Service/Best Practice: showcasing and sharing of heart failure services

An interactive exhibition area including exhibits from:

• Charities such as: British Heart Foundation, Pumping Marvellous, Cardiomyopathy UK, UKATPA (Amyloid Patient Association)
• Media partners such as: British Journal of Cardiology, Journal of the American College of Cardiology Heart Failure (JACC HF), Radcliffe Cardiology Publishing, Primary Care Issues & Answers, Journal of General Practice Nursing
• Members of the pharmaceutical and MedTech industries

BSH Fellowships:

Also, at the BSH 25^th Annual Meeting, 25 individuals who have made a significant contribution to heart failure care in the past 25 years and more will be recognised with the award of a fellowship of the society. These fellowships, the first to be awarded by the society, have been introduced this year for the 25^th anniversary of the society.

Professor Gardner continued: “We have made extraordinary progress over the last 25 years. So much so that heart failure is arguably the one of the success stories of modern-day medicine. We need the BSH 25^th Annual Meeting for the opportunity to come together in discussion as experts in the field because, whilst heart failure remains a burdensome, debilitating and potentially life-threatening condition, we have new treatments and management options which can help people to live well and live longer with the condition. This is an important aim of the care we provide as heart failure specialists and an important objective of the BSH Annual Meeting.” He concluded.

Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen. It is a condition that tends to get slowly worse over time to severely limit activities and compromise quality of life. As the endpoint of almost all cardiovascular diseases, the risk of death from heart failure is higher than for some of the most common cancers^[ii], therefore, heart failure should be recognised, detected, and treated with the same urgency as a disease as malignant as cancer^[iii].