Capturing life's precious moments after valve disease treatment.

2019 ‘Patient Portraits: A New You’ Life after heart valve disease treatment - National Photography Competition

Heart Valve Voice, in collaboration with The Royal Photographic Society, are hosting a second annual national photography competition to help raise awareness of heart valve disease, its prevalence and symptoms and to educate audiences that with appropriate treatment, patients can return to a good quality of life.

‘Patient Portraits: A New You’ presents the challenge for anyone in the UK over 18 to submit five photographic images that when viewed together tell a story through their eyes. A winning entry will be selected from each region by an independent selection panel.

If successful and chosen as a winner in your local area, you will have the opportunity to be paired with a local heart valve disease patient to capture what life after treatment means for them. You will be photographing you patient models experiencing a return to their quality of life following heart valve disease treatment; through their eyes. Conveying to audiences how these patients live their lives to the full.

‘Patient Portraits: A New You’ also provides the opportunity to everyone involved to learn more about heart valve disease along the way! A condition that affects approximately 1.5 million people over the age of 65 in the UK, and this figure is expected to rise to 3.3 million by 2056.

The national finalists will have their photographic documentary of a heart valve disease patient exhibited at the Houses of Parliament where a National Winner will be announced.

"The Heart Valve Voice photography competition was an amazing experience for me.” said last year’s overall winner Eric Etchart. “Getting to view Alan's [Tancred] active lifestyle and being able to capture his passion for dance was a privilege. It showed me that heart valve disease doesn't need to restrict how much fun you can have! Awareness of valve disease is an important step to getting back peoples' quality of life. I’m so happy that I was able to share these photographs and most importantly Alan’s story.”