AN appeal for almost £100,000 will allow Herefordshire heart patients to benefit from life-saving equipment.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF)launched the Herefordshire Heartbeat Appeal to raise £98,000 for a state-of-theart 4D Echocardiograph Machine.

The Echo machine would be installed in Hereford County Hospital’s heart and lung unit.

Sian Syddall, fundraising volunteer manager for the BHF, said: “This vital piece of technology will be used to support the county’s many vulnerable heart failure patients, who are often debilitated and immobile, and living in isolated, rural locations.

“Because of their fragility it is vital that these men and women have access to the best possible care locally.”

An Echo works in a similar way to an ultra-sound scan used to monitor pregnancies.

It gives a detailed, moving image of the heart on a screen and can help detect and monitor symptoms of heart failure, ensuring a quick diagnosis for patients.

The charity is also appealing for volunteers to help support patients for a few hours at a time.

Volunteer Dennis Kirk, from Ross-on-Wye, who had a quadruple bypass in 1987, said: “As a heart patient, giving time to support the BHF in your community is a special way of saying thank you for the lifesaving work the charity undertakes every day, on both a local and national scale.

“Without the pioneering developments brought about by the BHF, I would probably not be around today, and my family would be left devastated as a result of heart disease.”

For more information on volunteering or the Herefordshire Heartbeat Appeal, call Sian Syddall on 01905 797807 or email syddalls@bhf.org.uk