Heart warrior Valerie wins BHF honour
Donaghadee woman and heart transplant recipient Valerie McIlveen has received the British Heart Foundation’s Outstanding Contribution Award for Northern Ireland, recognising her years of fundraising, volunteering and advocacy for people affected by cardiovascular disease.
She will now represent Northern Ireland in the BHF People’s Choice Award at the Heart Hero Awards next month, competing against three other Outstanding Contribution winners from across the UK. The public is invited to vote for the story they find most inspiring.
Valerie, 67, a member of Donaghadee Golf Club since 2001, inset below, was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy at 46 after becoming breathless and collapsing while playing golf in February 2006. It marked the beginning of a 20‑year journey with serious heart disease before she received a lifesaving heart transplant in 2025.
“That day on the golf course changed my life,” she said. “This incident shocked and frightened me, as I had no idea what had actually happened. The very words ‘heart failure’ completely floored me. I honestly thought my life was over.”
Despite her fear, Valerie channelled her experience into action. As lady captain of Donaghadee Golf Club in 2019, she chose BHF as her charity of the year, championing lifesaving research and helping organise fundraising events, heart‑health information sessions and CPR training. She also shared her story publicly to raise awareness, promote the BHF Heart Helpline and reassure other heart patients during the pandemic.
“BHF was the obvious choice for me because of my condition, and I am very passionate about it,” she said. “I wanted to help others living with heart disease.”
Her advocacy is also shaped by personal tragedy. Valerie’s husband, Martin, died after suffering a cardiac arrest. She performed CPR in an effort to save him, but he later died in hospital. Despite this devastating loss, she continued to support BHF and campaign for greater awareness of CPR and defibrillators.
Since 2019, Valerie has been a fundraiser, speaker and volunteer, and a determined advocate for CPR and defibrillator awareness. Alongside her friend and fellow club member Jill Heron, she helped identify and check defibrillators across Donaghadee and ensure they were registered on The Circuit, the national defibrillator network used by ambulance services. Their work increased the number of locally registered defibrillators from 10 to 16 in one year.
“BHF Northern Ireland is like family to me. The whole team is amazing. I am very proud to be part of the team. BHF gives people hope,” Valerie says.
When Valerie’s condition deteriorated, she was assessed at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne and placed on the urgent transplant list. Just weeks later, she received a donor heart.
“First and most importantly, I want to express my sincere sympathy and gratitude to my donor’s family for giving me the gift of life. It is truly overwhelming,” she said.
“Post‑transplant, I have a lot more energy. I can walk up stairs and hills and feel normal again. I have a new zest for life and I’m looking forward to getting back to playing golf.”
Within months of her transplant, and with approval from her medical team, Valerie returned to supporting BHF. During Heart Month, she completed the Walk for Hearts challenge, walking a mile every day throughout February to raise funds and awareness. She has also used her transplant experience to encourage conversations about organ donation and the importance of cardiovascular research.
Receiving the Outstanding Contribution Award left her “humbled and hugely proud”.
“I was speechless when I was told I had received the award. It means the world to me, and I still can’t quite believe it,” she said. “I want to use my 20 years of experience – from being diagnosed with chronic heart disease to ultimately having a heart transplant – to help others. I want people to know that dilated cardiomyopathy is not a death sentence.”
Fearghal McKinney, head of BHF Northern Ireland, said Valerie’s story is one of “extraordinary courage, resilience and generosity”.
“For two decades she has faced heart disease with remarkable determination, while speaking openly about her experience, raising awareness and helping others. Even after receiving the gift of life through transplant, her instinct was to give back.
“Valerie embodies hope after transplant, dignity in adversity and a powerful commitment to helping others benefit from the research, treatment and generosity that have shaped her own journey. She is truly deserving of the Outstanding Contribution Award for Northern Ireland, and we hope people across the country will support her in the People’s Choice vote.”
Valerie added: “Heart disease is not a death sentence. It has shaped my life but it hasn’t stopped me living it.”
Public voting for the BHF People’s Choice Award is now open. Valerie is one of four nominees in the UK‑wide vote, representing Northern Ireland alongside nominees from England, Scotland and Wales. Voting closes at midnight on November 23, with the winner announced at the Heart Hero Awards on November 24.
l Vote now: https://www.bhf.org.uk/peoples-choice-award