Caitlin is pictured holding her Heart Hero Award with her brother Matthew Lory and mother Hayley Small. © Caitlin Lory
Submitted by Rachel MacManus
Nominations for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Heart Hero Awards 2022 are now open.
The BHF is asking the people of Ceredigion to nominate their local Heart Hero for the award.
Across the county around 11,000 people are living with heart and circulatory diseases. Around 1,300 people have been diagnosed with heart failure by their GP, and every year around three babies are diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.
Last year, 20-year-old Caitlin Lory, a student at Aberystwyth University, was named a BHF CPR Hero after she saved her brother Matthew’s life when he suffered a cardiac arrest at home, aged 24.
Caitlin said: “Winning the award means so much to me as it brought something positive and uplifting out of a scary and unimaginable situation.
“I hope it encourages other people to learn CPR as it is so easy, but so important and could save a loved one’s life.”
The charity aims to encourage people to recognise those who make a difference to people who live with a heart condition.
There are several Heart Hero categories, from a healthcare professional working to support heart patients in their community, to innovative fundraisers who have found new and creative ways of raising money for the BHF, as well as groups and individuals making an outstanding contribution to the heart community.
The charity also wants to recognise more children and teens (18 and under) who have shown incredible courage and determination and used this as a force for good in supporting the BHF.
Adam Fletcher, head of BHF Cymru, said: “We’re excited to bring back the Heart Hero awards for the fifth year.
“The pandemic is still proving to be an extremely challenging time for heart and circulatory disease patients and their families, for our research community and for the BHF.
“But we see this as even more reason to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our supporters who have gone above and beyond, despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, to help us power our life saving science.”
Nominations for CPR Hero and Young Heart Hero will be open all year round, but all other categories are open until May 31.
For more information about the criteria and to nominate your 2022 BHF Heart Hero click here.
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