Our 2022/23 Impact Report

Measuring impact is vital for charities no matter their size. At HEART UK, despite our size we have a mighty impact in the areas of all cholesterol and blood fat conditions.

As always, I am massively proud of what we have achieved again during 2022/23. We have continued to provide much-needed support to the public, service users and their families, as well as the healthcare professionals treating patients.

We launched our new diet checklist for the public and we built on our Primary Care Education Programme and launched new e-modules on diet for healthcare professionals. We also continue the great partnership with the National Health Service (NHS) to Tackle Cholesterol Together and educate healthcare professionals across the UK to make early diagnoses and improve treatment and care.

This partnership and the education were a finalist for the prestigious Health Service Journal (HSJ) award. Whilst we continue to deliver an increased need for support, we have also kept the pressure on policymakers for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cholesterol to be top health priorities.

The NHS continues to aim to fulfil the commitments of the NHS Long Term Plan, including increasing the 7% of Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) cases to 25% by 2024: a pilot child-parent screening programme for FH has been extended by 18 months and adjusted to aim to test 10,000 children. We have also kept the pressure on to keep the existing FH workflow system used across England which includes over 20,000 family pedigrees.

We have fed into key consultations on treatments and guidelines and are also working on getting cholesterol testing into the pharmacy contract.

Our achievements have only been possible with the involvement of our clinical collaborators, Trustees, Ambassadors, fundraisers, and donors whom we thank so much.

Jules Payne, Chief Executive

Download our Impact Report for 2022/23