Sir Ranulph Fiennes - Patron of the BHI
Sir Ranulph Fiennes agreed to become patron of the Bristol Heart Institute in 2005. He has been described as "The world's greatest living explorer" by the Guinness book of records.
Sir Ranulph underwent emergency heart surgery at Bristol Royal Infirmary in 2003, when he suffered a heart attack just before boarding a plane at Bristol airport.
3 months after his double-bypass operation he ran 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days, to raise money for the British Heart Foundation (for which he is also an ambassador).