Press & Media
For Journalists: To interview anyone from the PuckerUp4PH campaign or one of our affiliated international PH associations, to source a local case study, or if you require any further info email media@puckerup4ph.com or call 020 7272 3915.
For international enquiries, please visit your local association for additional details.
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Press Releases
24th March 2011
On the 18th of February 2011 at Castlebrook High School in Bury, Lancashire a new Guinness World Record ™ for the largest collection of lip prints was officially declared by representatives of Guinness World Records ™.
Since the Summer of 2010 members and supporters of PHA-UK in conjunction with PH patient support organisations from Quebec to Queensland encouraged as many people as they could to put on blue lipstick, ‘lend their lips’ to our campaign and learn about pulmonary hypertension (PH).
The Blue Lips logo was developed for PHA-UK and the global PH community in 2007, to grab the attention of the 97% of the UK population who, research shows, aren’t aware of the condition.
Pupils at the specialist science & technology college, Castlebrook High School in Bury, Lancashire not only lent 366 blue lip prints to the campaign, but another 120 students assisted with the official count of the tens of thousands of blue lip prints gathered from across the globe, under the watchful eyes of officials from Guinness World Records ™.
The UK’s Popular TV medic, Dr Chris Steele MBE, enjoying his 23rd year on ITV’s award winning daytime TV show, ‘This Morning’, is patron of PHA-UK and he came along to the official count to show his support. Dr Chris is ‘overjoyed’ that PHA-UK and the 32 groups they’ve been working with have set a new Guinness World Record ™ and most importantly educated hundreds of thousands of people about the condition.
36 year old Kerry Freedman, who teaches Design & Technology at the school, tragically lost her sister, Victoria Lynn, to PH seven years ago, aged 20. Kerry and her family are keen supporters of PHA-UK and have raised thousands of pounds for the charity. Kerry said, “To break a Guinness World Record is just fantastic! Victoria would be so proud of this achievement. I am so grateful to the Head, Mr Tony Roberts and to my colleagues and pupils for their unfailing support.”
Castlebrook High School’s Head teacher Mr Tony Roberts added, “We’ve had a fantastic response from staff and learners to the campaign. Ahead of our involvement, a presentation was shown to the school about pulmonary hypertension, which inspired our school community to want to do all they could to help. “
The new Guinness World Record ™ now stands at 54,949 lip prints collected (the vast majority of them blue) surpassing the previous world record by over 15,000 prints.
Two films from the count at Castlebrook High School can be viewed on the PuckerUp4PH homepage.
Pulmonary Hypertension - Fast Facts
Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) is a disease where the blood pressure in the arteries in the lungs elevates putting pressure on the heart, reducing the amount of oxygen that’s able to reach the tissues of the body causing breathlessness & exhaustion. This can significantly impact on the sufferer’s ability to lead a normal life. PH can often lead to heart failure. It can be a standalone condition or associated with other diseases.
- PH affects people of all ages including young children. It is twice as common in women as men and the commonest age at presentation is 40 - 50 years old.
- PH is often mistakenly diagnosed due to its similarities to asthma. People with PH experience a range of symptoms, the most common of which are breathlessness, dizziness, fainting, chest pain, palpitations and increased lethargy. These symptoms are described as "non-specific" which means it is quite difficult to diagnose.
- With correct treatment and a faster diagnosis almost two thirds of PH patients will survive longer than 5 years, however if not treated, approximately half of PH patients die within two years.
- Although there is no cure, there are effective and relatively new treatments that can help sufferers if they are diagnosed early in the disease progression.
- Thanks to recent advances in medical understanding and treatments the future for patients with PH is getting increasingly brighter, yet there is still some way to go before experts fully understand the causes of PH and can cure or prevent it.
- Heart-lung transplantation is a procedure offered to PH patients when all possible medical treatments have proved to be ineffective. The lungs can be transplanted without a new heart, but this type of transplant is not suitable for all patients. This treatment is limited by the availability of organs that are good enough to use. Sadly this means that some patients die whilst waiting for suitable organs.