Your heart is precious , and so are your memories
‘ A long-awaited positive step .’ Make your legacy unforgettable as promising findings offer hope to thousands .
Who could forget the choices , events , surprises and happenstances that brought you to this very moment in time ? Those pivotal cogs that set the wheel of life in motion and often only make sense in retrospect . In truth , any of us could .
So , news of , “ a long-awaited positive step ,” in keeping those precious memories alive , funded by the generosity of British Heart Foundation ( BHF ) supporters , is just as remarkable as it sounds . This promising research is only in its infancy and your legacy could be that one decision that helps change the course of scientific history – for countless people around the world .
Every five minutes , someone in the UK has a stroke . That ’ s as long as it takes to boil a kettle , to read these two pages , or to make a decision that could change the course of history . At British Heart Foundation we ’ re powering vital research to find new treatments for strokes including lacunar strokes – which are linked with nearly half of all dementias and account for more than one in five strokes in the UK .
Empty spaces
Lacunar strokes affect the small blood vessels – less than a millimetre wide – deep inside the brain . They were first named in the 1950s , when ‘ lacunae ’, or empty spaces , were spotted in the brain of those affected from them . Sometimes described as ‘ small ’ strokes , they can happen without the patient noticing . The more they happen , the more likely you are to develop problems with thinking or even dementia . This can be combined with mood disorders , depression or balance issues .
“ For a long time , people thought all strokes were due to blood clots or blood vessels bursting ,” says Professor Joanna Wardlaw . “ Only recently have we realised there is a set of strokes caused by problems with small blood vessels . These milder strokes have literally gone under the radar ,” she explains .
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