Doctors in Bradford chose Valentine's Day to prove they have a heart and wanted to listen to how patients think the care they receive can be improved.

The heart specialists, along with nurses and patients, gathered at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford for a conference called Heart Journeys.

The event was chaired jointly by Jan Procter-King, programme manager of the Coronary Heart Disease Collaborative in West Yorkshire, and Professor Alistair Hall, consultant cardiologist of clinical cardiology at the British Heart Foundation Research Centre in Leeds.

Prof Hall said they worked within a system which did not always put a premium on the feelings of patients - and that had to change.

"We have listened to patients who needed heart surgery and they have told us how they felt," he said. "They all said they wanted to be treated like human beings."

Speakers included two Bradford consultant cardiologists, Dr Steven Lindsay and Dr Chris Morley, who were accompanied by Bradford patients, who gave their opinions on treatment for heart patients and how the experience could be improved.

Former agony aunt Claire Rayner, pictured, who is president of the Patients' Association, a national voluntary organisation which campaigns for the rights of patients and better health services, was the keynote speaker.

"As a patient, I want a doctor to know what I need and I want to be involved and treated with respect, but I do not want to be in a position of power," she said.

"Patients want a sense of safety and to feel like we can trust everyone in the health service, from our GP to hospital management, and to be regarded as individuals.

"No sick person can remember everything they are told and patients need to be given the facts over and over again in a steady flow of accurate information with the jargon taken out."

A hundred British Heart Foundation balloons were released above the museum to mark the charity's campaign to raise awareness on women's heart health.