City brokers rally to tackle heart disease

The heart attack response team At Barts Heart Centre working hard to unblock a patients coronary artery (Barts Heart Centre)

If asked what the UK’s biggest killer is, few would answer “heart disease”. But that’s the reality – it’s responsible for over 155,000 deaths every year, with seven million people across the UK living with the debilitating condition.

And it’s particularly prevalent in the City and East London.

It’s a cause close to the hearts of staff at Beaufort Securities – a city-based stockbroker – who are joining forces to help improve cardiovascular care for Londoners.

Their office neighbours St Bartholomew’s Hospital, home to the Barts Heart Centre, one of Europe’s leading cardiac centres.

“Our local community depends on the care provided by the hospital,” explained John Brennan, Chairman of Beaufort Securities, recognising the part he and his staff can play in improving the healthcare of their local community.

“And so we’re very proud to be supporting Barts Charity to play our part in helping this fantastic care to continue for generations to come.”

St Bartholomew’s has treated the people of the City of London and beyond for 900 years. It’s a specialist hospital for cardiac and cancer care, and the Barts Heart Centre is seeking to tackle the high levels of heart disease prevalent in in the City and East London.

The Centre is helping to lead the way in transforming cardiac care for millions of patients – not just locally but globally.

Following its opening in April 2015, 5,000 patients from across London and beyond are treated there every month – and, through the combination of research and expert cardiologists, it’s set to save an additional 1,000 lives a year.

Beaufort Securities will be hosting a fundraising drinks reception at St Bartholomew’s Hospital’s Great Hall on 2^nd November where they aim to raise £50,000 to fund life-saving, ground breaking equipment and research at the Barts Heart Centre.

300 guests from the financial sector will attend, with each of them getting the opportunity to glimpse the medical advances underway in the City of London.

They’ll be able to try their hand at cardiovascular “surgery” with state-of-the-art simulators used to train the Barts Heart Centre clinicians.

Barts Charity supported the opening of the Barts Heart Centre with a £10.2m grant last year. Beaufort Securities’ fundraising will help clinical staff at the Centre with research and patient care.

“We’re truly grateful for the support of Beaufort Securities,” added Fiona Miller Smith, Chief Executive of Barts Charity.

Speaking about the Barts Heart Centre and what support from the community means, she added: “We are determined to make a step change in cardiovascular medicine and without the generosity of our neighbours this is not possible.

“We have a fantastic opportunity to revolutionise cardiovascular medicine by funding the most advanced pieces of equipment that save lives immediately while simultaneously funding vital research to help build the future of medicine.”

Daniel McKerchar is Major Gifts Manager at Barts Health NHS Trust