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Sally Winn, 48, who now lives in Wiltshire, will be running with her sister Sarah, 52, from East Grinstead, to ensure the lifesaving research that helped save their dad and brother can continue.

Sally said: “We feel really lucky that they’re both still here and in good health and we want to raise money for the BHF to give other people the same chances as my dad and brother.”

In December 2014, their dad Michael, who was 71 at the time, had started to slow down. Initially they put this down to him ageing.

Sally Winn (left) will be running the London Marathon with her sister Sarah (right) to ensure the lifesaving research that helped save their dad (centre) and brother can continue at the British Heart Foundation

It was only when he started becoming breathless that he booked an appointment to see his GP.

After being referred for further tests, doctors discovered his arteries were significantly narrowed and he underwent a quadruple heart bypass that April.

Thankfully, the operation was a success.

Sally, who works as a communications consultant, said: “He made a great recovery and felt so much better. It was like he had a new lease of life.

This will be the third time Sally has run the London Marathon for the British Heart Foundation

“It makes you realise that just because you’re getting older, you can’t always put slowing down to age – it could be something else.”

However, just over two years later in September 2017, the family saw history repeating itself, when their brother, Steve, who was in his 50s, also started becoming breathless.

“It all came on quite quickly. Steve phoned dad to ask him how he felt when he had problems with his heart,” said Sally. “Dad told him to go and see the GP and get checked.

“Steve was sent for tests at Brighton Hospital where he had an angiogram and the results came back quite concerning.”

Sally said: "Thanks to the work done by the BHF I still have my dad and brother. I’m raising money because I want other families to be as lucky as we have been."

Steve was then told he needed to undergo a triple heart bypass.

Sally, who is mum to Henry, 18, and Sam, 15, added: “We’re so grateful that they caught it early and both are doing really well now.”

Sally, thanks to encouragement from her sister Sarah, is now taking on the iconic TCS London Marathon to raise vital funds for the BHF’s lifesaving research into heart conditions.

Since the BHF was established, the annual number of deaths from heart and circulatory diseases in the UK has fallen by around half but there are still around 210,000 people living with heart and circulatory diseases in Sussex, with these killing more than one in four people in the county.

Sussex sisters to run 2023 London Marathon to ensure lifesaving research that helped saved brother and dad can continue