Read all about the latest Start a Heart news...

25/05/09 First school joins appeal

A TEAM of Coventry teachers are going back to school to learn how to use a life-saving heart start machine.

Staff at Finham Park, in Green Lane, will be trained to use the defibrillator which the school has purchased through the Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal.

The Telegraph-backed appeal - launched in memory of popular businessman Sir Derek Higgs - aims to base 50 new defibrillators around Coventry.

It is believed Finham Park could be the first school in the Midlands to have its own defibrillator.

A dozen staff are already signed up for defibrillator training next month and 12 more are keen to be trained.

There are even plans to cascade the lessons down to students who have already completed first aid and CPR training to create a whole network of potential lifesavers.

School first aider Vicky Handy said: "When I was doing a first aid course my instructor was talking about defibrillators and how every school, company and public place should have one.

"We already deliver a programme of first aid and life support training to all our upper school pupils so this seemed a logical next step."

Every minute that a victim's heart is stopped their chances of surviving drops by 10 per cent so having a defibrillator and trained operators on hand can mean the difference between life and death.

The defibrillator will also be available to help adults who use the site for a range of activities and functions outside school hours and the school's neighbours.

Pauline Parkes, the school's inclusion manager, said: "The school is a centre for the whole community - there are a lot of people who come through our gates so it won't just benefit pupils and staff.

"Last summer we had a helicopter land on the school grounds so paramedics could treat a man who had fallen off a ladder in the street.

"We would like to think this defibrillator will eventually be available to help the local community too."

PICTURE CAPTION: Staff at Finham Park School are being trained to use its life-saving new defibrillator, bought as part of the Sir Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal. (l-r) Richard Bennett, Vicky Handy (School First Aider), Paul Edwards, Phil Stone, Pauline Parkes, Jo Brake, Jane Railton.

01/05/09 Alan Higgs Centre helps kick-start appeal

A leisure centre in Coventry is playing its part in helping to kick-start the Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal.

The Alan Higgs Centre on Allard Way has become the fourth organisation to support the appeal to introduce more defibrillators across the city.

The leisure centre is among one of the first organisations to sign up to the appeal which was launched last week, and joins the Coventry Transport Museum, narrow boat Coventrian and the Inspire Bar in supporting the cause.

The Alan Higgs Centre, which is home to Coventry City Football Club's Academy and the Warwickshire Netball Academy, has been a hub of activity for sport enthusiasts throughout the city since it opened in 2004.

It is one of three centres managed by the Coventry Sports Foundation, with the Centre AT7 and the Xcel Leisure Centre already having defibrillators in place from previous donations made in partnership with the British Heart Foundation.

People of all ages make use of the facilities at the Alan Higgs Centre which boasts indoor and outdoor football pitches, a four-court sports hall, netball courts, a fitness suite, a health suite, dance studio and function rooms.

Graeme Truswell, centre manger at the Alan Higgs Centre, said: "To have a defibrillator is fantastic but it's one of those things that you hope you will never actually have to use.

"It's very important to have access to the life-saving equipment in this environment and to have staff trained to use it.

"If something does go wrong and someone suffers a cardiac arrest at the centre, then it's good to know that we will have the back-up in the form of a defibrillator to ensure they have the best chance of survival."

The Alan Higgs Centre was built with money given by the Alan Edward Higgs Charity of which Sir Derek Higgs was chairman.

Peter Knatchbull-Hugessen, clerk of the Alan Edward Higgs Charity and brother in-law of Sir Derek Higgs, said: "It is fitting that the centre built in memory of Derek's father should be one of the first to respond to this appeal."

PICTURE CAPTION: Graeme Truswell, Centre Manager at the Alan Higgs Centre, Coventry

28/04/09 Rowley's run raises thousands for appeal

A recent fundraising effort really did hit the ground running when a spectacular £10,500 was raised for the Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal.

Rowley Higgs, son of Derek Higgs, took part in the London Marathon and completed the gruelling 26-mile race in an impressive four hours and two minutes.

His efforts have raised thousands of pounds and will fund ten defibrillators and training - a huge boost to the appeal.

Thanks must go to Rowley for his impressive fundraising, and to everyone who sponsored him and supported the appeal.

PICTURE CAPTION: Rowley Higgs

20/04/09 Rowley to run the London Marathon for appeal

WHEN Sir Derek Higgs died from a heart attack his son Rowley knew he had to act.

One year on the 28 year-old is part of a campaign to save other cardiac arrest victims.

The Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal aims to place 50 defibrillators in businesses and community venues around the city.

And Rowley is going the extra mile to help the appeal hit the ground running - by completing the London Marathon on Sunday.

He hopes to raise £8,000 for the appeal - enough to pay for eight of the life-saving machines - and raise awareness about the importance of exercise for those as risk of heart disease.

"Dad had a heart attack two or three years earlier and his father had died of a heart condition so we knew it was there in the background," said Rowley, a solicitor in London.

"But his death was very unexpected because he was in good health."

The appeal is urging businesses to buy a defibrillator for a cut price £1,000 and have their staff trained to use it for free by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

It is also collecting donations to place defibrillators in community venues and public places around the city.

More than 500 people suffer a cardiac arrest in Coventry every year and their chances of surviving drop by ten per cent every minute that passes before they receive treatment.

Rowley said: "It think this is a fitting way of remembering my dad. He was always doing a lot of charity work so this would have been his type of cause."

PICTURE CAPTION: Rowley Higgs with his father, Sir Derek Higgs

17/04/09 Radio presenter backs appeal

RADIO favourite Bob Brolly is well known for his generous charity work in Coventry.

But the BBC Coventry and Warwickshire presenter's latest cause is particularly close to his own heart.

He is backing the Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal, a life-saving campaign which aims to place 50 defibrillators around the city.

Bob knows how important the heart-start machines are because he survived a cardiac arrest at his Coventry home in November 2005.

"I thought I was one of the last people who would ever have a heart attack," he said.

"I had never drunk or smoked and I had played football for teams around the city for years."

Bob had just gone to bed and was watching television when he felt "an almighty kick" in his chest and curled up in a ball.

He immediately realised he was suffering a heart attack so he struggled to get dressed and stagger downstairs to his family, who rushed him to hospital for life-saving treatment.

"I was one of the lucky ones," he said.

"I saw the defibrillator but they didn't have to use it."

Bob is full of praise for the doctors who saved him but he knows that without rapid treatment even their skills would not help.

That is why his charity Brolly and Friends is buying one of the miracle machines.

"We hear so many stories about sports people who are just 26 or 28 years-old dying from heart attacks," he said.

"You have to wonder, what if someone had been there with a defibrillator to bring them back?"

The Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal is asking local firms to help change that by buying a defibrillator at the reduced price of £1,000 and have staff trained to use it for free.

It is also seeking donations to help place defibrillators in community centres and public places.

The appeal has been launched in memory of millionaire city businessman and former Coventry City FC director Sir Derek Higgs, who died after a heart attack last April.

Bob said: "Derek was a wonderful man and this is a fantastic way of remembering him. If the appeal saves just one life it will be worth it."

PICTURE CAPTION: Bob Brolly

15/04/09 Coventry Transport Museum joins the appeal

One of Coventry's leading tourist attractions has become the first organisation to show its support for a city-wide appeal to help save lives.

Coventry Transport Museum in Millennium Place is backing the Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal to introduce more defibrillators into community areas and organisations across the city.

The museum, which has in the region of 367,000 visitors a year, has signed-up to the appeal and will receive a defibrillator which will be kept in the building to ensure that anyone who suffers a cardiac arrest has the best chance of survival.

Staff will also receive free accredited basic life support training from West Midlands Ambulance Service, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use the life saving defibrillator.

Every year in Coventry around 500 people suffer a cardiac arrest, which is when the heart stops pumping effectively, and for every minute that passes after a cardiac arrest the chance of survival decreases by 10 per cent.

This can be radically improved if a normal heart rhythm can be restored before a paramedic arrives, which can be achieved with the use of a defibrillator.

A defibrillator interprets the heartbeat and can give a controlled electric shock to restore the heart's normal rhythm.

The Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal wants to place 50 of these life-saving machines across Coventry, which will cost £50,000.

It is calling on businesses in the city to protect their workforce and customers by paying £1,000 for a defibrillator through the appeal which will provide free training.

The defibrillators usually cost around £1,300 and the training course normally costs between £250 and £300.

Gary Hall, Chief Executive of Coventry Transport Museum, said: "We are delighted to be working with the Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal with this very important piece of equipment."

The Derek Higgs Start a Heart Appeal is looking for additional support in the form of donations to ensure that community centres and public places can also have defibrillators.

West Midlands Ambulance Service Community Response Manager for Coventry and Warwickshire, Ian Inglesant, said: "It is great that the Transport Museum has become the first organisation to join the Start a Heart Appeal.

"I am sure that all the visitors will benefit greatly from knowing that a life saving device with trained staff is permanently available at the museum incase someone needs immediate emergency treatment and I look forward to the training commencing at the museum shortly."

PICTURE CAPTION: Left, Chief Executive of Coventry Transport Museum Gary Hall with West Midlands Ambulance Service Community Response Manager for Coventry and Warwickshire, Ian Inglesant (right).