TWO women are determined to end the heartache of heart and circulatory diseases in Cheshire – and they need your help.

Niki Fieldhouse, 48, from Chester and Steph Phillips, 31, from Ellesmere Port, aim to raise at least £5,000 for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in 2020.

It’s a cause that’s very close to their hearts. Niki had heart surgery three years ago to repair her mitral valve, which had become damaged when she contracted endocarditis, an infection of the inner lining of the heart which can be deadly.

Niki fell ill in June 2015 with chills, exhaustion and chest pain, and was eventually given antibiotics. However, it wasn’t until after a routine check at her workplace, which revealed a heart murmur, that Niki was properly diagnosed.

“I was 45 when I was told I needed heart surgery,” said Niki, a CRM marketing strategy manager at Matalan in Knowsley.

“It didn’t sink in at first and took some time to process, and I just wanted to get back to normal.

“If I’d needed the surgery just a few years earlier then open-heart surgery would have been the only option.

"Thanks to research developments, many of which were supported by the BHF, I was able to have minimally invasive surgery – while it’s still a major operation, the recovery period was much shorter.”

She added: “For me, volunteering is not just about giving something back but investing in my and other’s future as although I hope I will not need any further surgery, I would like to support any research that further reduces invasive surgery and recovery times.”

Niki and Steph have set up an Ellesmere Port fundraising group to raise money for the BHF to support lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases.

They have raised funds already through supermarket collections and a bake sale, but they need more volunteers from the town and surrounding area to join them and make a bigger difference.

Involvement will be flexible and group members can suggest ideas for things they would like to try, from coffee mornings to skydives, and bucket collections to sponsored runs.

Steph, a conference and events co-ordinator, was just three years old when her mum was diagnosed with an inherited heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, where the heart’s muscle wall becomes thick and stiff.

Steph said: “My mum has had extensive treatment over the years since she was diagnosed. The medicines and treatment she receives have dramatically improved over the years and I want to thank the BHF for the role they have played in funding research breakthroughs.

"Now it’s my turn to give something back.

“My mum has never let her condition get her down or stop her doing anything, so it was our ‘normal’ growing up. I want to raise as much as possible for the BHF as they have helped us so much in our day to day lives.”

The BHF estimates that around 9,000 people in the Ellesmere Port area, and 138,000 in Cheshire, are living with the daily burden of heart and circulatory diseases, including heart attacks and stroke.

The charity is the UK’s largest independent funder of research into heart and circulatory diseases.

Leah Goodhind, BHF fundraising manager for Cheshire, said: “With donations from the public, the BHF funds groundbreaking research that will get us closer than ever to a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases.

"Niki and Steph are excited to bring together people from Ellesmere Port and beyond to support this lifesaving research; we hope lots of people will be inspired to join in and help us beat heartbreak forever.”

  • For more information about joining the Ellesmere Port fundraising group, contact Leah on goodhindl@bhf.org.uk or call 07500 057015.