Our impact
We’re so proud of our achievements during the pandemic in 2021/22, thanks to your support.
Watch our Impact Video which shows how our work has brought about some significant changes to prevent premature disease and death from cholesterol and other blood fat conditions.
Download our Impact Report for 2021/22
We work to prevent premature deaths from high cholesterol – a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. We receive no government funding and rely on your donations to help fund our work.
At HEART UK, every day we strive to:
- Support everybody that contacts us for help and advice
- Campaign for patients to get a proper diagnosis and the best possible care
- Raise awareness of the risk of high cholesterol and Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH)
- Reduce premature deaths from high cholesterol a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes
Helpline
Our helpline provides impartial information and support to people who want to understand more about cholesterol.
In 2021/22 we supported 1,456 enquiries to our helpline which is an increase of 46% compared to pre-pandemic levels:
- 100% of respondents said they were 'very likely' or 'likely' to make a change or take action thanks to our helpline's support
- 98% of helpline users rated our service as 'excellent' or 'good'
Healthcare Professionals
In 2021/22 we launched our Primary Care Education Programme which reached 2,513 healthcare professionals:
- 94% reported being 'more' or 'much more' confident on these topics
- 89% said the programme would improve their patient care
- 89% would recommend our webinars to their healthcare professional colleagues
Literature
In 2021/22 we sent out 87,924 free booklets to healthcare professionals to pass onto their adult patients and 3,423 booklets for children and young people. An additional 90,057 materials were downloaded from our website.
We heard back that:
- 99% feel our literature is 'invaluable' or 'very helpful'
- 98% give our booklets to patients during a consultation
Providing reliable information for both healthcare professionals and the public is vital in ensuring that everyone can make informed choices about their care.
Engagement and Influence
HEART UK is constantly working to keep cholesterol and other blood fat conditions on the healthcare agenda.
This year, we have engaged with the following bodies:
- Securing confirmation of the allocation of £500,000 for the NHS to pilot child-parent screening for FH in 7 areas of England
- UK National Screening Committee on the reasons why child-parent screening for FH should be adopted as a national screening programme
- Securing the confirmation of the allocation of £335,000 for the NHS to establish a life-long FH registry
- Association of British Insurers to try to make sure patients with FH are not penalised by having a diagnosis when their cholesterol is well controlled
We have also contributed towards a number of consultations on clinical guidance, from diagnosis through to treatment, long term management and new medications.
National Cholesterol Month 2021
Our annual campaign to raise awareness of cholesterol achieved significant milestones for the charity this year. Our highlights include:
- 2.4 million of you viewed our Facebook posts
- We reached 2.6 million individuals through our social media channels
- 192,000 people viewed our website and got clued-up on cholesterol
- 18,000 users visited the UCLP menopause page with 1,900 downloading the healthy eating guide
- 56,270 of you signed up to our monthly e-newsletter, which includes free recipes, tips and news
How your donations can help:
- We support families and friends who have lost a loved one from high cholesterol and ensure they have the right information and help
- It costs £60 to enable someone to access support they need from our Cholesterol Helpline and give a free information pack
- We spend over £25,000 every year on printing information leaflets
- We run regular campaigns supporting patients and healthcare professionals
- Over 2.4 million people every year use our website for expert information about cholesterol
- Helping over 830,000 people every year with our online heart healthy recipes
- Over 500 world-class clinicians attend our annual scientific conference every year
- 96 pence in every £1 donated goes towards our charitable activities
A note from the Chief Executive
I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved again this past year in 2021/22. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the HEART UK team has ensured that everyone within our cholesterol community could access the support they needed. We have also launched our new Primary Care Education Programme in partnership with the NHS to Tackle Cholesterol Together and educate healthcare professionals across the UK to make early diagnosis and improve treatment and care.
Whilst we continue to deliver an increased need for support, we have also kept the pressure on policy makers for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cholesterol to be top health priorities. 2021/22 has seen a first step towards the NHS’s long-term plan target to identify 25% of people with FH by 2024: a pilot child-parent screening programme for FH was started with the intention of testing 30,000 children over a two year period and work began to establish a lifelong FH registry. Our achievements have only been possible with the involvement of our clinical collaborators, Trustees, Ambassadors, fundraisers and donors who we thank so much.
Jules Payne - Chief Executive