ONE of Wales’ top women’s organisation, Merched y Wawr, who have a number of groups in the Ammanford area, has pledged a year long partnership of with British Heart Foundation (BHF) Cymru by naming the organisation as their Charity of the Year for 2014.

BHF Cymru welcomed this new partnership with Merched y Wawr at Lampeter University in September which will kick-start a year long calendar of activities to fundraise se and raise awareness for Wales’ heart charity and heart disease.

With an estimated 180,000 women currently fighting their daily battles with cardiovascular disease in Wales, three out of 10 women also lose their lives because of it – making it more deadly than cancer.

Jayne Lewis, Fundraising Manager for BHF Cymru, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen as Merched y Wawr’s Charity of the Year. Heart disease can affect anyone, but as a society we often continue to prop up the myth that heart problems are just for men with TV adverts and soap plotlines portraying men with heart conditions. Women are often less likely to recognise the symptoms of a heart attack, and are slower to call 999 when one strikes. We are therefore thrilled to have support from one of Wales top women’s’ organisation such as Merched y Wawr not only in helping to raise vital funds to support our life-saving research into heart disease for the benefit of all sufferers, but also in raising awareness around women and heart disease.

All money raised by Merched y Wawr will be donated directly to BHF Cymru to help fund their vital life-saving research and services including specialist healthcare professionals, caring for heart patients, and supporting families and carers , and ensuring more people survive a cardiac arrest in homes and in the community.