THIS September, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) is raising awareness of womenand heart disease and I want to encourage your readers to help fund life-saving heart research by taking part in our ‘Bag It Beat It’ campaign throughout the month.

It’s a sad reality that cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes the deaths of over 8,000 women in south west England alone each year and there are also around 3.5 million women living with cardiovascular disease across the UK.

As the nation’s heart charity, the BHF is determined to fund as much vital research as possible into every aspect of CVD, including causes, better drugs and improved surgical techniques to improve the prospects for anyone affected by CVD in the UK. It is only with the continued support of people in south west England that we will be able to fund this pioneering research.

Having a clear out and donating any unwanted items to your local BHF shop as part of ‘Bag It Beat It’ this September is a really simple way everyone can get involved and help in the fight for every heartbeat. Every single item donated to your local BHF shop, whether it is clothing, shoes, books or records will help continue the fight against coronary heart disease, the UK’s single biggest killer.

To help make donating completely hassle-free, we even offer a free home collection service which can be booked either through your local shop or by calling our free phone line on 0800 915 3000.

I really hope your readers are able to support us this September and help to ‘Bag It Beat It’ for women affected by heart disease.

To find your local shop, order free donation bags or find out more about what can be donated please visit bagit.bhf.org.uk .

Nicola Lampard, Area Manager at the British Heart Foundation