We are Corinne, Shelley and Hazel. 3 school mums. One living with Heart Failure, one Occupational therapist and one former Heart Failure Consultant. We are E-biking, Cycling and running 20 miles from Leeds General infirmary to Pinderfields hospital, Wakefield.

We are doing this to raise awareness of Heart Failure, its signs and symptoms B.E.A.T., and the Heart Failure charity Pumping Marvellous – and to raise money on the way.

B.E.A.T - Breathlessness. Exhaustion. Ankle swelling. – Time… to see your GP / Time for a blood test.

Heart failure effects people in many ways. Breathlessness, Exhaustion, Ankle swelling are some of the typical symptoms. Signs and symptoms can easily be missed. They can be masked by other conditions and misconceptions.

Corinne’s story –

Prior to August 2020 I was running 3 times a week. I could happily hike up the likes of Scafell Pike, and complete road cycling events of 80 miles plus without any real training.

In August 2020, I had a TIA. In December 2021 I had an MRI showing - Anterior MI with severely impaired LV function. EF 32%.

It took 16 Months to a diagnosis of Heart Failure and establish a probable cause.

16 months trying to work out why I was so tired, dizzy, breathless doing what was my normal. This still included running but I was getting very, very slow. I was having what I thought were panic attacks when on an incline. Frustrated that I was not getting any answers, I bought online kits. I tested my sugars, my urine, measured my BP, HR, recording this daily in a table. I had numerous conversations with health care professionals in Primary Care about my symptoms. I knew something was wrong; I was not heard. I was told I was making myself anxious. I felt like I was making it up.

Since diagnosis it has taken me a long time to trust how I feel. My confidence in my ability to recognise symptoms was low. I struggled to accept that friends, family and colleagues even believed that I had heart failure. It took me a long time to pitch in my mind how serious my condition is. Surely if it was serious then these things wouldn't have happened? Nonsense thoughts - Maybe it has all been a mistake and I don't even have Heart Failure?

Time is healing this.

As a previous regular runner / cyclist when first diagnosed I thought that this part of my world would stop – yes, it has dramatically changed but with this challenge we want to prove that with the right support you can do anything. Heart failure doesn’t have to stop you, you may have to adjust, have a back-up plan, make allowances and modifications, but you can live well with heart failure.

Heart failure can affect anyone, it doesn’t discriminate against a person’s gender, ethnicity, fitness level or age. Corinne was 48 when she was eventually diagnosed. Her fitness level masked the symptoms in plain sight.

Please help support our event by spreading the B.E.A.T acronym, sponsor us, or by buying cake at Pinderfields hospital between 2 and 4pm on Thursday the 17th of September.

Thank you.

When you choose to donate to Pumping Marvellous you are donating to the 1 million people living with Heart Failure across the UK.

You’re donating to the 200,000 people that will be diagnosed with Heart Failure each year.

You’re donating to help us raise awareness with our BEAT HF campaign and to deliver free Heart Health events across the country providing crucial early diagnosis to people who need it.

Most importantly you’re donating to enable us to educate people and empower them to self-manage their condition and live well.