24 Hours in A&E: Heart Special

Nominated for: Best Brand-Driven Format 2021

Produced by: The Garden Productions
For: Channel 4
Distributed by: Banijay Rights

This special episode of the award-winning series in partnership with British Heart Foundation, follows the stories of three patients treated for cardiac problems at St. George’s Hospital in south west London.

24-year old Corey is rushed to St. Georges after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing ice hockey. Doctors keep him in an induced coma to stop any further damage to his brain while they carry out tests to determine the cause of his collapse. His wife Alice, who he married only ten days earlier, waits by Corey’s bedside and tells us the story of how they first met and fell in love.

59-year-old Angie has come to St George’s with her husband Antoni. She has a history of heart disease and her heart has been beating at over 150 bpm for eight hours, risking stroke and other complications. Cardiologist Dr Arun’s attempts to bring down Angela's pulse using a powerful drug aren’t successful, so he decides to electrically shock her heart to reset it.

Meanwhile, 49-year-old Steve visits A&E with his wife Julia after his heart-rate climbed to a dangerously high level while he was cooking. As doctors carry out a blood test to determine the cause of Steve’s earlier episode, we hear from his wife Julia about Steve’s recent history of stroke, and how she fears for Steve’s future health because of his family’s historic cardiac problems.

Each of the patient’s stories include contextual ads delivered by the patients or their loved ones underlining the importance of the work of the British Heart Foundation and how to donate. The patient stories are brought up to date when we revisit them or their loved ones to find out what happened next and how treatments and research supported by the charity have helped their condition.