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Martyn O'Connor first had valve disease surgery to replace his aortic valve 11 years ago. After his valve began to deteriorate, urgent intervention was required, and thanks to the excellent team at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, he was able to receive his life-saving treatment, and was discharged in a matter of days.

Covid has placed a huge strain on our NHS and led to delays of thousands of heart valve disease treatments. With an estimated 44,000 cardiac procedures lost already, and an increasing backlog, a group of untreated heart valve disease patients have come together with a simple message - Just Treat Us. Delaying treatment leads to worse outcomes, but with timely treatment patients can get back to a good, even better, quality of life.

As a part of the SCTS Virtual Annual Meeting 2021, we have partnered with Calon Heart Screening Wales to host a virtual 5 km run on the 8th of May 2021. The aim of the event is to raise awareness of cardiovascular diseases.

Last week I read with intrigue the Heart editorial about Professional Societies' role in developing guidelines and the importance of NICE being an independent, evidence-based organisation providing recommendations.

I started working at Heart Valve Voice fresh out of University and I began in an administrative role before very quickly started moving up to bigger responsibilities, and I am now a Head of Programmes and completing a level 4 apprenticeship in Project Management.

As part of International Women's Day 2021, we wanted to look at the unique challenges heart valve disease treatment presents women and how treated patients have dealt with those challenges.