Hi friends (old and new), I’m Gabbie and I have been lucky enough to be picked to run my first marathon for Cardiomyopathy UK in the upcoming London Marathon! 

A little something about me: I’m a Physiotherapist working in Intensive Care and the Coronary Care Unit. From my Physio world I have seen the effect of cardiomyopathy on my patients and I wanted to see if I could help further - one of these being able to help fundraise for research. 

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle: 'cardio’ means heart, ‘myo’ means muscle and ‘pathy’ means disease. It isn’t a single condition, but a group of conditions that affect the structure of the heart and reduce its ability to pump blood around the body. Around 1 in 250 people in the UK are affected. 

My role as a Physiotherapist comes into play at the start, during, and after admission. On admission, therapy aims to give patients the best chance of becoming fit for surgical interventions or having devices fitted. Throughout their stay we aim to help patients get back to a sense of normality in function, feeling, and quality of life so they can return home fit enough to take on home challenges in the community. Lifestyle change advice is given after their treatment to help optimise their health post-admission for patient-guided management at home.

With the ever evolving nature of medicine, research must follow suit. Cardiomyopathy UK strives towards raising awareness about the condition and developing more efficient measures for the prevention and management of the condition. 

Please join me in supporting this wonderful charity through your kind donations.