Nestled on the riverside next to Shrewsbury's English Bridge, surrounded by trees and patches of flowers, is a bright red bench - a bench with a powerful story.

If you take a closer look at its gold plaque, it becomes clear that it is dedicated in living memory of someone, rather than someone who has died.

That person is Faith Harrison, 24, from Little Minsterley, who survived a seven-hour heart attack at the age of 22 in January 2024.

"When people sit on the bench… I want them to live their life, go and do whatever they want to do, not be afraid, and get uncomfortable to get comfortable," she said.

The bench is one of 65 put up across the UK by the British Heart Foundation to celebrate the charity's 65th birthday.

It is also hoped they will encourage people to talk about their heart conditions.

Faith's heart attack was because of two congenital heart defects that she had no idea about.

Emergency surgery removed a blood clot that was blocking 90% of one of her arteries, and she was told by doctors she was lucky to be alive.

Formerly a personal trainer, bodybuilder, and weightlifter who loved hockey and running, her life completely changed.

She now owns her own pilates studio, which she set up in the aftermath, after being told she could not continue to do the exercise she loved.

Although she does not live in Shrewsbury, Faith said the location of the bench still meant something to her because of its proximity to her new business.

"My studio is only around the corner, so it's kind of what makes sense for it to be here, it's a lovely view… we can sit here and just talk about life and what we're grateful for," she said.

"Also to reminisce about people who maybe didn't survive cardiovascular disease and being able to raise awareness and educate."

It is a place she visits often, but she said the meaning of it went beyond her story.

"It's not about me - the bench. As much as I can't say thank you enough to the British Heart Foundation for honouring a bench in my name, the bench does go beyond me and it does go for everyone that's got cardiovascular disease," she told the BBC.

"I want people to realise that living is a luxury."

A new survey of 2,000 UK adults living with cardiovascular disease commissioned by the British Heart Foundation found more than half have felt judged or embarrassed about their condition.

This is something Faith understands. When her story made it into the news, she was accused of using drugs and steroids.

"A lot of people view heart attacks as happening to someone who's old, potentially a man, overweight… so when they found out I had one and it wasn't because of any of those reasons, it was congenital, I did get asked a lot of questions," she said.

"I had to get thick skin quite quickly, but I used that as a form of education, to educate people about what heart defects are.

"There was a sense of embarrassment, but I think my story inspired people to talk about what they're going through, rather than keeping it confined to themselves."

Each of the 65 benches around the UK is linked to a person who is living with heart or circulatory disease.

Zoe Roberts, the British Heart Foundation's fundraising manager for the Black Country, Staffordshire and Shropshire, said: "We want to make it easier for people to talk about their experience with cardiovascular disease.

"Faith was introduced to me through her story initially, she had a lot of placement in the news, and she wanted to give something back to the British Heart Foundation.

"Faith's an incredible example - it shows that heart and circulatory disease can affect someone of any age, no matter whether they're young, they're old, in terms of their lifestyle, it can happen to anybody."

Roberts added: "She has been nominated for one of our heart hero awards. She has done fundraising in her own right, she has worked with our CEO, she has gone down on trips to London to talk in front of groups of people… she's an incredible young lady."

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