The four-day Brighton to Paris ride is organised by Heart Valve Voice and will end at EuroPCR, one of the world’s leading cardiovascular conferences.
Among the riders is Phil Reed, partnerships and operations director at Heart Valve Voice, who has undergone heart valve surgery himself.
Mr Reed said: “For me, this ride is about showing what life after treatment can look like.
“Before my surgery, there were things I simply couldn’t do physically, and now I’m preparing to cycle 350 miles to Paris. That’s the power of timely treatment.
“I want people to see that heart valve disease is treatable and that patients can get back to living full and active lives.”
The ride has become a flagship awareness and fundraising event for Heart Valve Voice, bringing together clinicians, patients and advocates to highlight the need for earlier detection, timely treatment and better access to care.
The journey will end at the EuroPCR conference in Paris, where the riders will join patient advocates to ensure the patient voice is heard in discussions about innovation and care pathways.
Wil Woan, executive director of Heart Valve Voice, said: “It’s incredibly important that patients have a voice at major clinical meetings like EuroPCR.
“Too often, conversations around pathways and innovation happen without enough focus on the lived experience of patients navigating the system.
“The UK continues to lag behind many European countries in the number of valve procedures carried out, both surgical and transcatheter, and we need urgent action to address this.
“Patients must be part of those discussions if we are serious about improving outcomes and access to treatment.”
The campaign is supported by clinicians including Ishtiaq Ahmed, a consultant cardiac surgeon at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
Mr Ahmed said: “Having cycled the same route myself, I know just how challenging this journey is.
“To now see one of my own patients take on the ride is incredibly powerful and demonstrates the excellent outcomes patients can achieve when they receive timely treatment.”
The campaign can be followed using #HVVParis26 on social media.
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