A COMEDY night run by a heart operation survivor has raised £3,000 for the British Heart Foundation.

Nearly 190 people attended Cardiac Comedy at Komedia in Gardner Street, Brighton.

Performers included Simon Evans, Zoe Lyons, Carl Donnelly and Dan Evans

The event was organised and compered by Brighton business owner David Blood.

He was born with a heart valve defect and had the first of two life-saving heart operations when he was aged just three.

He said: “It was a brilliant gig and all the acts went down a storm. I really want to thank all the performers and everyone who bought a ticket and came along on the night.

“I owe my life to the heart surgery I had as a child. If it wasn’t for the research that the BHF funds, operations like that wouldn’t be possible.

“That’s why I’m so grateful to everyone who helped to raise this fantastic total which will be used to discover new ways to help heart patients in the future.”

In the UK, heart defects are diagnosed in at least one in 180 births .

Estimates suggest that as many as one or two per cent of the population may be affected.

In the 1960s, the majority of babies born in the UK with a heart defect did not survive to their first birthday.

Today, thanks to scientific advances in detection and treatment, around eight out of ten survive to adulthood.