I always believe that o day my heart will be fix

Scientists are a step closer to curing a deadly cardiac condition giving patients like Tess Jewson renewed hope, writes RUTH HUNTMAN

But I loved the trumpet. I was told I would never be able to play it again as it was putting too much pressure on my heart. That was the worst news for me.”

Current treatments for PAH including macitentan and sildenafil can only target symptoms and can have unpleasant side effects such as nausea, limb pain, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Tess, who takes both medications, says: “I get headaches, migraines and nausea but it’s got me through the last 10 years so I know that holding out through the side effects will be better for me in the long run.”

Despite her condition, which often involves long stays in hospital, Tess managed to get a place at Southampton University to study music and obtain her degree. She travelled around Europe with an orchestra until she was 21 and worked in the Middle East before returning to the UK to become a music teacher.

“I have always been a positive person,” she says. “But I never know what the next day will bring. I have to wake up and see how I feel.

“If I go out and start to feel sick I have to go home. I also find that if I go out and let my hair down I have to take the next day off as I will spend the day in bed. I went on holiday with friends last year and spent the next week in hospital.

“I will have a wonderful time but I will pay for it. But that is my decision. If I didn’t I would feel left out. I live life to the full as I don’t know what is around the corner.”

But now thanks to new research, Tess has been offered a glimmer of hope. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), have made a breakthrough which could lead to a new treatment.

By studying muscle cells from pulmonary arteries in mice and clones of human cells, the team, led by Professor Mark Evans, have been able to show that they can use the existing treatments for PAH to regulate a new calcium channel called TPC2. How these drugs work against the condition has been hotly debated but it is hoped that the breakthrough could speed up the road to new specific drugs for PAH.

Dr Abigail Woodfin of the BHF says: “Although this research is in early stages it is always encouraging to see new targets emerge that could he develop treatments for condition that blight the lives of thousands people and their families.”

Tess says: “This new research i fantastic news for me because it g me hope that maybe a cure will b found in my lifetime. I know it wil strengthen my quality of life befo the dreaded transplant.”

She adds: “My hopes for the fut are that I will remain stable enou to live a long and happy life. Ther many medications for me to try b I need a transplant but until that time, with the support of my frien and family – especially my mum a Terry – I’m going to enjoy making most of every day living with my husband and our dog Izzy. There cure but there’s always hope.”

The BHF aims to fund £100 mill of research each year to help peop like Tess. To find out more about i work visit bhf.org.uk