News

We're delighted to announce that Henry Smith, MP for Crawley, has joined our 100,000 Conversations campaign to raise awareness of heart valve disease. As part of his conversation, Henry, sat down with the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Heart Valve Disease, Steve McCabe MP, and Heart Valve Voice CEO, Wil Woan.

Today, Leyland-based Dave Swanton, 64, became the face of national heart charity, Heart Valve Voice’s, #JustGo campaign as he urged heart patients to put their heart health first or risk worse outcomes. With an estimated 100,000 fewer heart operations car- ried out in 2020, it is feared that patients are reporting to hospital sicker, having masked or hidden symptoms due to Covid.

The journey of our submission to NICE for the draft guidelines started in 2016 in the Churchill Rooms in Westminster. We were there to launch our Heart Healthy Future report. The then National Clinical Director for Heart Disease, Professor Huon Gray, attended the event. We had been lobbying for increased awareness of heart valve disease. That day, Professor Gray told me that he had instructed NICE to look at the guidelines for heart valve disease. For a charity that was only a couple of years old, it was an extraordinary moment and let off the starting pistol that led to the work we have done over the past four months. 

Heart Valve Voice carried out an independent and impartial patient consultation on the NICE Draft guideline on heart valve disease presenting in adults. The process was patient-led and inclusive, with both treated and non-treated patients invited to attend. We recognised that not all patients want to share their experiences openly, so we developed an online survey, alongside an interactive webinar, to allow more patients to participate.

Heart Valve Voice is pleased to announce that former Clinical Director for Heart Disease for NHS England, Professor Huon Gray, has joined our team in an advisory role and has agreed to act as Chair of the new Heart Valve Voice Clinical Advisory Panel.

Heart Valve Voice are delighted to announce the formation of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Heart Valve Disease, which Heart Valve Voice will be acting as secretariat for.