Heart Failure Unfiltered Podcast

Pumping Marvellous, the UK's Heart Failure Charity. Fuelled by patients.
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This Podcast has been brought to you by the Pumping Marvellous Foundation the UK's Heart Failure Charity. In our series of Podcasts, talking to people about heart failure, we look beyond the cardiologist and delve into what makes people tick, what’s their “Secret Sauce” the Elixir that drives people to overcome and conquer challenging situations in their life.

  1. 5d ago

    Can You Live Well With Heart Failure? | Heart Failure Unfiltered

    Sarah-Jane was diagnosed at 28 and is a heart failure nurse now. Corinne was heading towards a transplant conversation three years ago and is stable on the same medication. So what does getting your life back actually look like? In this final episode of a four-part series, Nick Hartshorne-Evans - founder and CEO of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation - sits down with Sarah-Jane, Katie and Corinne to ask whether you can build a good life while heart failure stays exactly where it is. Sarah-Jane calls it her reincarnation. Katie could not have children of her own, so she became the aunt whose sister has the kids packed and waiting before the sentence is finished. Corinne slowed down, misses her colleagues, and does not miss the stress. They talk about what "stable" actually means, the abandonment people describe when they are discharged from a specialist team back to primary care, and the postcode lottery that decides whether an echocardiogram takes two weeks or six months. Nick closes on a line he wrote down beforehand. Without inquisitiveness, managing heart failure is Russian roulette. No white coats. No jargon. Just people who've lived it. In this episode: 00:00: Welcome and what this episode covers 01:04: Marvellous myth buster, is extreme tiredness just age? 01:21: Meet Sarah-Jane, Katie and Corinne 02:45: Can you build a good life while heart failure stays? 04:19: "I like to think of heart failure as my reincarnation" 07:56: Is this life better than the one before? 11:15: Do you still see yourself as vulnerable? 14:44: Where the hope actually comes from 16:15: What does stable really mean? 17:16: Feeling abandoned when you go back to primary care 20:07: What we've each discovered about ourselves 22:53: The postcode lottery for an echocardiogram 25:36: Can you still live well, and what that phrase should mean 28:14: Nick's ABCD theory of patients 33:05: Without inquisitiveness, it's Russian roulette 🫀 If heart failure is part of your life, you don't have to face it alone. The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is the UK's leading heart failure charity, patient-led, trusted, and here for you. ⚡ B.E.A.T. Breathlessness, Exhaustion, Ankle swelling, Time to tell your GP or nurse. If you have a combination of these, speak to your GP surgery. Heart failure is diagnosed with a simple blood test. 🔗 Visit: www.pumpingmarvellous.org 💬 Peer support, search "Help for Hearts" on Facebook and apply to join 💛 Donate £5 today and help someone feel less alone #HeartFailure #LivingWithHeartFailure #BEATHF #PumpingMarvellous #HeartFailureUnfiltered #HeartFailureAwareness #HeartFailureRecovery #Hope #SelfManagement #PeerSupport #ChronicIllness #PatientAdvocacy #CardiacCare #NHS #HealthAwareness #HeartHealth #HeartDisease #UKCharity #PublicHealth #CardiologyCare

  2. 5d ago

    Three 10Ks a Week, Then I Couldn't Walk Up the Stairs | Heart Failure Unfiltered

    🔗 Visit: www.pumpingmarvellous.org 💬 Peer support, search "Help for Hearts" on Facebook and apply to join 💛 Donate £5 today and help someone feel less alone In the first episode of a three-part series, Nick Hartshorne-Evans - founder and CEO of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation - sits down with Shannon Nixon of the Yorkshire and Humber Heart Failure Academy and patient educators Corinne Hudson and Katie. Between them, Katie and Corinne were told it was mental health, lifestyle, weight and anxiety. Corinne was testing her own urine, blood pressure and blood sugar at home because she knew something was wrong and nobody would say what. Katie's mum eventually called 111, and the operator sent an ambulance after listening to her try to speak. They talk about what the one appointment that worked actually did differently, why the waiting between scans was harder than the diagnosis itself, and how the Academy is building on BEAT to get heart failure onto the radar of generalists across Yorkshire and Humber. The cardiologist who saw Katie in A&E told her mum he wasn't sure how she was still standing. In this episode: 00:00: Welcome and what this episode covers 01:30: Meet Shannon, Corinne and Katie 02:30: Katie's symptoms, and everything they were put down to 05:00: Corinne was running three 10Ks a week 07:00: The one appointment that was different 08:20: The BEAT symptoms she had all along 09:40: Why generalists don't think heart failure first 11:30: The map the Heart Failure Academy created 14:00: What it felt like to finally have an answer 15:40: Marvellous myth buster, does heart failure only affect older adults? 16:40: The waiting, the ICD, and "my rebrand" 20:20: The 111 call Katie's mum made 22:00: Heart failure as the Cinderella syndrome 24:30: BEAT posters in every practice in Yorkshire and Humber 27:00: The booklet, and why knowledge is power 🫀 If heart failure is part of your life, you don't have to face it alone. The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is the UK's leading heart failure charity, patient-led, trusted, and here for you. ⚡ B.E.A.T. Breathlessness, Exhaustion, Ankle swelling, Time to tell your GP or nurse. If you have a combination of these, speak to your GP surgery. Heart failure is diagnosed with a simple blood test. #HeartFailure #BEATHF #PumpingMarvellous #HeartFailureUnfiltered #HeartFailureAcademy #PrimaryCare #HeartFailureAwareness #KnowTheSymptoms #EarlyDiagnosis #GeneralPractice #NTproBNP #PatientAdvocacy #CardiacCare #NHS #HealthAwareness #ChronicIllness #HeartDisease #UKCharity #YorkshireAndHumber #CardiologyCare

  3. Sep 23

    They Told Me It Was All in My Head | Heart Failure Unfiltered

    Katie spent over a year on antidepressants and diazepam. She had two blood clots in her lungs, one in her left ventricle, and failing kidneys and liver. So what does it take to be believed? In this third episode of a four-part series, Nick Hartshorne-Evans - founder and CEO of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation - sits down with Katie, Sarah-Jane and Corinne for what he calls the most provocative conversation of the series. A GP made Katie run around the car park and come back so he could show her that her oxygen levels had not changed. Corinne was told to stop recording her own blood pressure because she was making herself anxious. Sarah-Jane woke at 38 weeks pregnant unable to breathe and was worked up for a pulmonary embolism, a chest infection and childhood asthma before anyone looked at her heart. They talk about how one line in your notes follows you from doctor to doctor, why no patient ever walks into a surgery and says they think they have heart failure, and what to say at the next appointment when you have already been told you are fine. Sarah-Jane is a heart failure nurse now. She makes extra time for her younger patients. No white coats. No jargon. Just people who've lived it. In this episode: 00:00: Welcome and what this episode covers 01:17: Meet Katie, Sarah-Jane and Corinne 03:13: When you first know something is genuinely wrong 05:05: Waking up at 38 weeks pregnant unable to breathe 06:36: Cold after cold, and sleeping sat up 08:23: "I don't know how to tell you this, but it's in your head" 10:06: What the symptoms actually turned out to be 13:44: When you start to doubt yourself 15:34: The emergency section nobody expected her to survive 17:00: Marvellous myth buster, do you have to manage this alone? 21:10: Why young people get overlooked 26:20: Why nobody walks in saying "I think I've got heart failure" 33:36: What to say when you are told everything is fine 36:36: Nick at the GP in his pyjamas and slippers 🫀 If heart failure is part of your life, you don't have to face it alone. The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is the UK's leading heart failure charity, patient-led, trusted, and here for you. ⚡ B.E.A.T. Breathlessness, Exhaustion, Ankle swelling, Time to tell your GP or nurse. If you have a combination of these, speak to your GP surgery. Heart failure is diagnosed with a simple blood test. 🔗 Visit: www.pumpingmarvellous.org 💬 Peer support, search "Help for Hearts" on Facebook and apply to join 💛 Donate £5 today and help someone feel less alone #HeartFailure #Misdiagnosis #BEATHF #PumpingMarvellous #HeartFailureUnfiltered #HeartFailureAwareness #KnowTheSymptoms #Breathlessness #NotInYourHead #WomensHealth #MaternalHealth #PatientAdvocacy #CardiacCare #NHS #HealthAwareness #ChronicIllness #HeartDisease #UKCharity #PublicHealth #CardiologyCare

  4. Sep 16

    Nobody Tells You What Happens Next | Heart Failure Unfiltered

    Donna was told she had heart failure on a Thursday. On the Friday she was back running her shop. So what happens once everybody decides the emergency is over? In this second episode of a four-part series, Nick Hartshorne-Evans - founder and CEO of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation - sits down with Corinne, Donna and Danny to talk about the part nobody plans for, the weeks and months after the diagnosis. Danny came home with a bag of tablets and no idea what any of them did, and his wife Jane spent four nights awake watching him sleep. Corinne worked out how serious it was from a copy of a letter sent to her GP. Donna did not leave the house for a year. They talk about the visitors who stop coming after a week, side effects that get brushed off as "you're on a lot of medication now", and why nobody thinks to hand you a peer support group along with the prescription. Danny decided in his hospital bed that he would climb Ben Nevis within twelve months. He did it. No white coats. No jargon. Just people who've lived it. In this episode: 00:00: Welcome and what this episode covers 01:27: Meet Corinne, Donna and Danny 02:05: What happens when everyone thinks the emergency is over 05:16: A diagnosis drip-fed over months, and the "magic box" ICD 07:17: The visitors stop coming after about a week 09:28: The first night at home 18:03: A bag of tablets and nobody explaining them 22:36: The emotional side nobody checks on 25:18: Why peer support should be prescribed 26:05: Losing the social life you used to have 28:20: When the fear finally became manageable 30:44: Finding the humour, and the Robbie Williams tickets 34:07: What helped you believe tomorrow might come 39:40: Helping somebody win at something 🫀 If heart failure is part of your life, you don't have to face it alone. The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is the UK's leading heart failure charity, patient-led, trusted, and here for you. ⚡ B.E.A.T. Breathlessness, Exhaustion, Ankle swelling, Time to tell your GP or nurse. If you have a combination of these, speak to your GP surgery. Heart failure is diagnosed with a simple blood test. 🔗 Visit: www.pumpingmarvellous.org 💬 Peer support, search "Help for Hearts" on Facebook and apply to join 💛 Donate £5 today and help someone feel less alone #HeartFailure #LivingWithHeartFailure #BEATHF #PumpingMarvellous #HeartFailureUnfiltered #HeartFailureAwareness #HeartFailureRecovery #CaregiverSupport #PeerSupport #ChronicIllness #PatientAdvocacy #CardiacCare #NHS #HealthAwareness #HeartHealth #HeartDisease #UKCharity #PublicHealth #MentalHealthAndIllness #CardiologyCare

  5. Sep 9

    It Wasn't a Chest Infection... It Was Heart Failure | Heart Failure Unfiltered

    Katie went back to her GP every month for 15 months. Danny had 16 appointments in a year and nobody checked his blood pressure once. So why does heart failure take so long to spot? In this first episode of a four-part series, Nick Hartshorne-Evans - founder and CEO of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation - sits down with Katie, Danny and Donna to talk about the part nobody prepares you for, getting the diagnosis. Between them they were told it was a chest infection, asthma, their pacemaker, their weight, their age and their mental health. Danny went private in the end and was told his cough was psychological. Donna was carrying so much fluid that her trousers burst while she was stocking a bottom shelf at work. Katie was blue-lighted to hospital and spent six weeks unconscious, so her parents were given the diagnosis instead of her. They talk about how long it takes to be believed, whether a diagnosis at 26 gets taken as seriously as one at 70, and what they wish someone had said to them in that room. Danny wrote out his funeral arrangements at three in the morning. Three years on, he says his life has never been better. No white coats. No jargon. Just people who've lived it. In this episode: 00:00: Welcome and what this episode covers 01:43: Meet Katie, Danny and Donna 02:53: The symptoms you can't explain to yourself 09:48: A year, 16 appointments, no blood pressure check 12:14: Why we all explain the symptoms away 13:34: Is heart failure diagnosis ageist? 15:06: Why BEAT matters 16:03: The moment each of them was told 25:07: Catastrophe or relief? 28:38: Grieving the life you thought you'd have 32:14: What we wish we'd known on day one 38:05: Where to find support 🫀 If heart failure is part of your life, you don't have to face it alone. The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is the UK's leading heart failure charity, patient-led, trusted, and here for you. ⚡ B.E.A.T. Breathlessness, Exhaustion, Ankle swelling, Time to tell your GP or nurse. If you have a combination of these, speak to your GP surgery. Heart failure is diagnosed with a simple blood test. 🔗 Visit: www.pumpingmarvellous.org 💬 Peer support, search "Help for Hearts" on Facebook and apply to join 💛 Donate £5 today and help someone feel less alone #HeartFailure #HeartFailureDiagnosis #BEATHF #PumpingMarvellous #HeartFailureUnfiltered #HeartFailureAwareness #KnowTheSymptoms #Breathlessness #Misdiagnosis #HeartHealth #PatientAdvocacy #CardiacCare #NHS #HealthAwareness #ChronicIllness #HeartDisease #UKCharity #PublicHealth #EjectionFraction #CardiologyCare

  6. Sep 2

    Heart Failure Unfiltered | We Got Dad Back... But Nothing Went Back to Normal

    Getting the diagnosis is only the beginning. So what happens to a family once the crisis passes and heart failure just... stays? In this second episode of a two-part series, Nick Hartshorn-Evans - founder and CEO of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation - sits back down with his wife Karen and daughters Natasha and Anastasia to talk about what came after his heart failure diagnosis at 39. Coming home didn't mean going back to normal. Instead, it meant a new German Shepherd puppy, a secretly renovated bedroom, missing prescriptions, a heart failure nurse who became a lifeline, and two young girls quietly growing up faster than they should have. Together they talk honestly about isolation, mental health, the confusing gap between specialist and GP care, why percentages like "ejection fraction" mean nothing without context, and what they'd say to a family just starting this journey. It's a warm, funny, and deeply honest look at the long tail of a heart failure diagnosis — for the patient and everyone around them. This is part two of a two-part series. In this episode: 00:00 — Welcome & what this episode covers 02:39 — Coming home to fish and chips (and being sick) 03:57 — The secret bedroom makeover 05:28 — The chandelier assembly saga 06:55 — What the girls actually remember coming home 07:15 — Were you being a giddy five-year-old? 08:54 — Living "institutionalised" after weeks in hospital 09:15 — Nearly giving Riggs the puppy away 09:48 — Giving a hospitalised parent's gift some thought 11:27 — Watching for symptoms with no clear playbook 12:26 — The warfarin prescription fight 13:53 — Losing hospital "cotton wool" back in primary care 14:12 — Getting back to normal vs. pacing yourself 19:17 — What heart failure changed — or "chained" — in the family 19:27 — Marvellous myth buster: does a diagnosis mean nothing improves? 21:05 — Did isolation ever creep in? 22:51 — The fall, the head bang, and the long A&E wait 24:03 — Did it make the girls grow up faster? 25:29 — "Nobody's ever talked about the charity" — until now 26:18 — What have you learned about your parents? 28:09 — What clinicians should — and shouldn't — tell young children 31:19 — Why ejection fraction percentages confuse patients 33:05 — What would you say to another child going through this? 35:20 — What Nick would tell himself in that hospital bed 36:06 — Closing thoughts and how to find support 🫀 If heart failure is part of your life, you don't have to face it alone. The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is the UK's leading heart failure charity — patient-led, trusted, and here for you. 🔗 Visit: www.pumpingmarvellous.org 💛 Donate £5 today and help someone feel less alone #HeartFailure #HeartFailureAwareness #PumpingMarvellous #HeartFailureUnfiltered #FamilyStory #HeartFailureRecovery #HeartHealth #PatientAdvocacy #CardiacCare #NHS #HealthAwareness #ChronicIllness #CaregiverSupport #HeartDisease #UKCharity #PublicHealth #MentalHealthAndIllness #HospitalStory #EjectionFraction #CardiologyCare

  7. Aug 26

    Heart Failure Unfiltered | When Heart Failure Came Home

    A heart failure diagnosis doesn't just happen to one person - it happens to the whole family. So why does it so often take a crisis before anyone gets the diagnosis right? In this first episode of a two-part series, Nick Hartshorn-Evans - founder and CEO of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation - turns the mic on his own family. At 39, Nick was rushed to hospital with organs shutting down before finally being told: "you've got heart failure." Fifteen years on, he sits down with his wife Karen and daughters Natasha and Anastasia to relive the missed symptoms, the frightening hospital stay, and what it was really like watching a husband and father become critically ill without warning. Together they unpack the GP visits that missed the signs, the terrifying nights of hallucinations, how a new puppy became an unlikely lifeline, and the different ways children and adults process a frightening diagnosis. It's a raw, funny, and honest look at what happens when heart failure comes home - essential listening for patients, families, and anyone who has ever sat by a hospital bed not knowing what's next. This is part one of a two-part series. In this episode: 00:00 — Welcome & what this series is about 00:22 — The question this series keeps asking: beat the diagnosis 00:52 — Marvellous myth buster: can symptoms improving mean you're cured? 01:09 — Meet the family: wife Karen and daughters Natasha & Anastasia 02:07 — The day our family changed forever 02:15 — A frozen house, a new puppy and the first warning signs 03:41 — Struggling to breathe and missing the classic symptoms 04:51 — A&E dismisses it as "pregnant woman syndrome" 05:41 — The little green men: hallucinations begin 06:38 — "You're going to hospital" — the turning point 08:44 — Kidneys and liver failing, doctors baffled 11:33 — Diagnosed: "you've got heart failure" 15:09 — Telling two young daughters without scaring them 16:10 — A puppy, school runs and holding the family together 17:26 — Did the NHS miss the warning signs at home? 18:49 — Reading heart failure leaflets: "you're going to die" 19:29 — What the girls actually remember from hospital 20:51 — Would Google and AI have changed how scared they felt? 23:16 — Driving home after hearing the words "heart failure" 24:14 — The worst days: fluid overload and a wheelchair to the bathroom 24:44 — Was there even time to be afraid? 28:58 — Marvellous myth buster: why do we say "failure"? 31:08 — What "heart failure" meant to a five-year-old 32:08 — Sisters, secrets and sweets from WH Smith 36:26 — Nick turns the questions back on Karen 39:38 — Living with an ejection fraction of 15–20% 41:45 — Why Nick didn't want his daughters to see him that ill 44:07 — What Nick wishes he'd understood sooner 47:37 — Would they tell the girls differently if they were teens? 50:46 — Life on the cardiology ward: unforgettable characters 52:23 — Closing thoughts and where to find support 🫀 If heart failure is part of your life, you don't have to face it alone. The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is the UK's leading heart failure charity — patient-led, trusted, and here for you. 🔗 Visit: www.pumpingmarvellous.org 💛 Donate £5 today and help someone feel less alone #HeartFailure #HeartFailureAwareness #PumpingMarvellous #HeartFailureUnfiltered #FamilyStory #HeartFailureDiagnosis #HeartHealth #PatientAdvocacy #CardiacCare #NHS #HealthAwareness #ChronicIllness #CaregiverSupport #HeartDisease #UKCharity #PublicHealth #MentalHealthAndIllness #HospitalStory #HeartTransplant #CardiologyCare

  8. Aug 19

    Heart Failure Unfiltered | Beyond Diagnosis: How BEAT Heart Health Events Deliver Value for the NHS

    Finding heart failure early doesn't just save lives - it saves the NHS money, time, and capacity. But why are we still so slow at catching it?In this second episode of a two-part series, Nick is joined by Gavin (patient educator and heart transplant recipient), Amy (Medtronic), and Gail (ICB CVD Prevention Commissioner) to look beyond the individual diagnosis story and ask the bigger system question: how do we find people earlier, at scale, and bring healthcare into the communities that need it most?Together they unpack the real cost of late diagnosis, the inequalities driving it, why the NHS still isn't built for prevention, and how community-based BEAT Heart Health Events - funded by Medtronic and delivered with the Pumping Marvellous Foundation - are screening thousands of people and catching hidden cases of hypertension and heart failure before they become emergencies.This is part two of a two-part series - essential listening for patients, carers, commissioners, and anyone working in cardiovascular health.In this episode:00:00 — Welcome & what this series is about00:22 — Finding people earlier at scale01:20 — Meet Gail, Amy & Gav02:00 — The biggest cardiovascular challenges facing the NHS04:19 — Why the system stays reactive, not preventative09:29 — Have we failed at CVD prevention?12:00 — Prevention vs. political headline cycles10:12 — How much heart disease is actually preventable15:37 — What "primordial prevention" really means12:52 — The NHS 10 Year Plan and the neighbourhood model13:32 — Bringing healthcare into the community17:57 — Why health isn't always a priority for people18:53 — Rethinking "hard to reach" communities19:08 — Marvellous myth buster: heart medication21:42 — Why trust is everything in community healthcare23:11 — Reaching diverse and underserved communities25:32 — Collaboration between charities, NHS & industry28:03 — What success looks like for Medtronic27:42 — Why schools could be part of the neighbourhood model29:32 — The fear factor: why people avoid hospitals33:15 — Speaking the public's language, not jargon36:20 — Measuring success beyond the numbers34:43 — Making screening the norm, not a one-off event39:11 — AI, data & the future of prevention43:47 — Where cardiovascular care needs to be in 5 years44:38 — Closing thoughts: earlier changes everything🫀 If heart failure is part of your life, you don't have to face it alone.The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is the UK's leading heart failure charity — patient-led, trusted, and here for you.🔗 Visit: www.pumpingmarvellous.org💛 Donate £5 today and help someone feel less alone#HeartFailure #HeartFailureAwareness #PumpingMarvellous #HeartFailureUnfiltered #BEATHeartHealth #CVDPrevention #EarlyDiagnosis #NHS10YearPlan #HealthInequalities #CommunityHealthcare #HeartHealth #PatientAdvocacy #NHSInnovation #HeartDisease #PopulationHealth #UKCharity #PublicHealth #Prevention #DigitalHealth #ChronicIllness

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About

This Podcast has been brought to you by the Pumping Marvellous Foundation the UK's Heart Failure Charity. In our series of Podcasts, talking to people about heart failure, we look beyond the cardiologist and delve into what makes people tick, what’s their “Secret Sauce” the Elixir that drives people to overcome and conquer challenging situations in their life.

Information

  • Creator
    Pumping Marvellous, the UK's Heart Failure Charity. Fuelled by patients.
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    60
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Pumping Marvellous, the UK's Heart Failure Charity. Fuelled by patients.
  • Show Website
    Heart Failure Unfiltered Podcast