Overview
- Willis learned of an enlarged heart and atrial septal defect during a routine check last January, and the hole was closed via keyhole surgery at Royal Brompton Hospital two months later.
- She says being diagnosed at 48 was a shock and that anxiety and mental adjustment have been the hardest part despite a smooth physical recovery.
- The BHF is installing 65 red benches across the UK to celebrate survivors of cardiovascular disease and encourage conversations and donations to research.
- During the campaign, Willis met Aimee Nicholls and her son Leo, 8, who underwent open-heart surgery as a newborn, and Michelle White, who has had two open-heart operations and a pacemaker and is now told her heart is functioning well.
- She is set to cover BBC Radio 2’s Saturday lunchtime show this weekend and has said she feels nervous about the role.