Newham is now a heart town after the borough signed up to an initiative run by the British Heart Foundation.

Newham Council has teamed up with the heart charity as part of its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal which was launched this year to mark its 50th anniversary.

Heart Towns is a new campaign developed by the charity to bring together communities through volunteering and fundraising as well as raising awareness of heart disease. It also aims to provide a wide variety of support services including school initiatives, workplace health and lifestyle information resources.

Nicola Syred, BHF Volunteer Fundraising Manager in Newham, said: “We are delighted that Newham Council signed the pledge making the borough a Heart Town. There are many activities and events happening throughout the year that local people can get involved in. We will be working with the local community to raise awareness of heart disease and raise money for the BHF’s Mending Broken Hearts Appeal.”

Newham will be building on a relationship developed with the BHF through Hearty Lives Newham. The programme has been making a difference to the lives of people in the borough with heart disease, and their carers, through the funding of specialist nurses and tailored heart health initiatives.

Councillor Clive Furness, Executive Member for Health, said: “Newham Council is committed to supporting residents in being healthy and this new initiative will help them become more aware of the simple steps they can take to maintain a healthy heart, as well as raise much needed funds for the campaign.”

“Every person in Newham really can make a difference and help give hope to millions.”

The charity aims to fund research that could begin to ‘mend broken hearts’ in as little as 10 years and save and improve the lives of millions within decades. There is no cure for a broken heart but research can change that and help researchers learn how to teach the heart to ‘heal itself’.

To do this, the charity needs to spend �50 million on research to repair damaged hearts. The charity hopes it could be funding trials with heart failure patients in as little as five years.