About Heart Disease
About Help BEAT Heart Disease
Help BEAT Heart Disease is a dedicated campaign supporting people to take part in research looking to discover new ways to prevent, diagnose and manage different kinds of heart disease.
Registering with Research for the Future means you will receive information about opportunities to take part in research.
The process is easy. We will ask you for your contact details, some questions about your general health, what heart condition you have and whether you have a family history of heart disease.
About heart disease
Heart disease or cardiovascular disease (CVD) are umbrella names for a range of conditions that affect the heart or blood vessels (circulation). Examples of heart disease include angina, heart failure, heart attack, and abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia).
High blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking are the key risk factors for heart disease. Other medical conditions, lifestyle choices and genetics can also put some people at a greater risk of developing a heart or circulatory condition.
There are more than seven million people living with heart and circulatory disease in the UK and it remains one of the leading causes of death each year.
Taking part
Taking part in research means you will be helping to improve health and care for future generations as well as helping researchers:
- better understand heart disease and how to prevent or diagnose it
- identify effective treatments, such as drugs or rehabilitation programmes
- develop new services to support people living with heart disease
- understand why some groups of people are at greater risk of developing heart disease
There are lots of different types of research and ways you can take part, including:
- completing a survey or questionnaire
- being part of a discussion group
- testing a smartphone app, online system or activity tracker
- trialling a support programme helping people to better manage heart disease
- being part of a clinical trial testing new and existing medications.
We use the information you provide when you register to inform you about suitable opportunities as they arise along with details of how you can take part. It is always your decision whether to take part in anything we tell you about. If at any time you change your mind and no longer want to receive information, let us know.
The information you provide is stored on a secure NHS database. It will never be shared with anyone else. For more information about how we store and protect your personal information, see our ‘Privacy notice’
Health and advice
If you have a health concern, please contact your GP for advice and treatment.
The NHS 111 service is available to make it easier and quicker for people to get the right advice or treatment they need, be that for their physical or mental health. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Online at nhs.uk
- Call 111 for free from a landline or mobile phone
The best sources of up-to-date accurate health information about heart or circulator conditions, tests and treatments:
- NHS website
- British Heart Foundation website
Current studies
Supporting people with diabetes and CVD
Co-creating an intervention to better support people living with these conditions.
Find out more about: Supporting people with diabetes and CVD
Improving cardiac rehabilitation
Help researchers design a future study to make cardiac rehabilitation programmes more accessible.
Early-HF
Evaluating a new way to detect whether a person will develop heart failure, or become unwell with it.
How you've helped us
Move a little and often
Testing a new approach to help people move more as part of a PhD research study.
Using artificial intelligence to predict risk
Investigating the feasibility of integrating several data sources to support identification and management of people at risk of cardiovascular disease.
Mediterranean diet and resistance exercise for cardiac rehabilitation
Testing a diet and exercise program to help increase muscle mass in cardiac rehabilitation patients.
