The agency, which has provided DRTV work for the charity in the past, beat WWAV Rapp Collins and charity specialists The Domain Group and Whitewater to the account.
BHF's direct marketing brief was previously held by DMS, also based in Cheltenham, which has worked with the charity for around 10 years. DMS declined to repitch for the account.
Paul Farthing, managing director at Target Direct, said: "Working with BHF, Target's vision is to make BHF Britain's number one charity -- and to keep it there for as long as heart and circulatory disease continue to be Britain's number one killer.
"Over the next few months, we will be working closely with BHF to devise a proposition that really changes hearts and minds."
The charity is also set to announce a sweeping review of its fundraising policies, following the appointment of new director of fundraising Aneesha Moreira.
According to Moreira: "The charity is entering a new and exciting fundraising era. We were looking for an agency with a good track record of implementing innovative below-the-line fundraising programmes to help us reach new fundraising heights over the next few years."
She added: "Working with Target Direct, we hope to increase our income, which will ultimately allow us to spend more money on fighting heart disease -- the UK's single biggest killer."
Target's appointment follows a DRTV campaign the agency developed in October 2002 featuring hard-hitting facts about heart disease, which kills as many as 500,000 people in the UK each year.
In March, Target Direct announced that Paul Farthing had been promoted to managing director, following a shake-up of the agency. Ray Clark became group marketing director from head of client services in the same reshuffle. Target's clients include The National Trust and Marie Curie Cancer Care.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .