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This charity was founded in 1985 by a group of ex-patients who, together with their relatives and friends, started a support group for patients experiencing heart problems. In 1986 a Sister at the then Groby Road hospital set up a committee formed by ex-patients, along with some cardiac staff and so the first meetings began.

Originally the charity was called Link Up. Patients along with other fund-raising activities started to make donations of money for the benefit of the cardiac wards. During this time the support group members made their telephone numbers available so that patients could talk to someone who had gone through similar experiences. Some years later the name was changed from Link Up to Take Heart Leicester (THL) in order to avoid confusion with the children’s charity Heart Link.

The same ideals remain today.

The adult cardiac support group usually meets on the first Saturday of each month at Clinical Education Centre, Glenfield Hospital. New patients, ex- patients, their families and friends meet with others who have had similar heart treatment, and gain comfort from the chats they have over a cup of tea or coffee with a biscuit. Today the charity has expanded to also include running a bookstall at the hospital in order to raise funds, running a walking group once a month, social events, offering hospital visiting to patients on the Adult Cardiac wards. Over the years many hundreds of thousands of pounds have been raised to make life a little bit more comfortable in hospital.

We have to say a big thank you to those pioneers of Take Heart Leicester.