WHEN Sioned Thomas set off on a run with her dad Grahaeme in the summer of 2019, little did she know it would be the last moment they would spend together.

Grahaeme had a fatal cardiac arrest that day, leaving his family devastated.

However, break-through research is giving new hope to those living with heart muscle conditions.

A injectable cure for inherited heart muscle conditions which can lead to cardiac arrest could be available within a few years, after an international team of researchers were announced as the winners of the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) Big Beat Challenge.

The technology could prove revolutionary and has been welcomed by families with such conditions up and down the country.

Sioned Thomas, 25 and from Caerleon, described the moment her father had a fatal cardiac arrest.

She said: “In June 2019 I was on holiday with my family in France and my dad decided to go for a run.

"He was fairly active, he played rugby when he was younger and regularly went running. At the last minute I decided to go with him and while we were out running my dad suddenly had a cardiac arrest.

"It happened so quickly; I just didn’t know what to do. It was so frightening.”

Since her father’s death, Ms Thomas has been a passionate supporter of the BHF’s work, twice running the Cardiff Half Marathon, and raising almost £5,700 for the charity.

She said: “I’m not a natural runner, but I wanted to do something for my dad and to help other families who are affected by heart diseases.

"Losing my dad was really hard for me and my family, and I was determined to fundraise in memory of my dad.

"It’s a fantastic thing to be a part of making a difference to the lives of people affected by heart conditions.”

The winning team in the Big Beat Challenge, CureHeart, will seek to develop the first cures for inherited heart muscle diseases by pioneering revolutionary and ultra-precise gene therapy technologies that could edit or silence the faulty genes that cause these deadly conditions.

It’s estimated that one in 250 people worldwide - around 260,000 people in the UK - are affected by genetic cardiomyopathies, with a 50:50 risk they will pass their faulty genes on to each of their children. In many cases, multiple members of the same family will develop heart failure, need a heart transplant, or are lost to sudden cardiac death at a young age.

Reacting to the announcement of the CureHeart research project, Ms Thomas said: “This really is amazing news and has the potential to change so many lives.

"With cardiomyopathy running in my family there’s even a possibility that this research could help save my life one day.

"I think there is currently a real lack of public awareness about heart diseases such as cardiomyopathy and the fact that they can impact anyone at any time.

“My family had no idea that my dad suffered from cardiomyopathy until it was too late, so raising awareness is something that is really important to me.

"Hearing about this new research has made me feel really hopeful for the future and relieved to know that hopefully deaths caused by cardiomyopathy could be a thing of the past.”