GENEVA, 28 August 2025: The World Heart Federation (WHF) is partnering with sports organizations, hospitals, universities, and businesses to urge people to commit to a month of exercise as part of the battle to tackle heart disease.
With this year marking the 25th anniversary of World Heart Day, WHF is launching a global campaign called ‘Don’t Miss a Beat’, raising awareness that cardiovascular disease (CVD) is preventable.
Finn-Jarle Rode, CEO of World Heart Federation, warned that cardiovascular disease is particularly affecting low and middle-income countries, and said governments need to create national plans to improve care.
CVD is the leading cause of death worldwide, claiming the lives of 20.5 million people annually and accounting to more than 33% of global deaths. However, up to 80% of early heart attacks and deaths from stroke are preventable.
Finn-Jarle Rode, CEO of World Heart Federation, says: “World Heart Day is a crucial moment to continue raising awareness about the risks associated with CVD, the world’s biggest killer. And while developed countries have made huge strides in preventing early deaths caused by CVD, low- and middle-income countries are still on the backfoot.”
In this milestone year as World Heart Day—observed on 29th September each year—turns 25, WHF aims to:
- Ignite global conversations and engagement, using powerful stories, to continue raising awareness about the devasting impact of heart disease on families and communities.
- Align healthy living with healthy hearts by encouraging individuals to embrace healthy habits, including daily movement, this September and beyond to reduce CVD risks.
- And most importantly, urge governments to improve access to life-saving care and CVD treatment as a priority.
As part of this year’s campaign, WHF is launching the ‘Keep the Beat’ challenge to encourage daily movement. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), individuals should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity throughout the week. As such, WHF is inviting everyone to commit to at least 25 minutes of exercise for 25 days in September—be it walking, running, doing yoga or even dancing—to promote the benefits of movement for a healthy heart and in the process, also form a habit.
Alongside WHF’s nearly 250 members, international and regional sports organizations as well as businesses including sporting goods retailer Decathlon and manufacturer of sports equipment Technogym, will support this year’s campaign, with many of them taking up the Keep the Beat challenge this September.
World Heart Day will also be brought to life by this year’s official mascot, Cardi V, who will appear throughout the campaign embodying healthy lifestyle habits, from engaging in physical activity to calling for more screenings and treatment worldwide.
At a policy level, WHF is actively working towards ensuring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) 3.4 is achieved by 2030, especially in the context of CVD. Hosted on international online platform, Change.org, WHF is also launching a global petition urging elected leaders to increase treatment of hypertension—one of the most significant risk factors for CVD—to include 500 million more people by 2030.
Finn-Jarle Rode, CEO of World Heart Federation, says: “WHF will continue driving progress through research and policy interventions, and this year in particular, we encourage people to take action and prioritize their heart health before it’s too late and urge governments to introduce dedicated National CVD Plans to stop unnecessary deaths caused by heart disease.”
World Heart Day 2025 is supported by WHF’s global sponsors, Amgen and Servier, and its supporting partners, including Novo Nordisk, Bayer, Arawana and Standard Foods.
Find out more about the Don’t Miss a Beat campaign at worldheartday.org.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the World Heart Federation
The World Heart Federation (WHF) is an umbrella organisation of close to 250 members in more than 100 countries, representing the global cardiovascular community and uniting patient, medical, scientific, and civil society groups. WHF’s three-fold mission is to connect and lead the CVD community, translate science into policy, and stimulate knowledge exchange. For more information, visit https://www.worldheart.org
Media contacts:
Lisa Hadeed, Senior Communications Officer,
lisa.hadeed@worldheart.org | +41 22 512 0693
Suezelle D’Costa, Associate Director, Hawthorn Advisors
s.dcosta@hawthornadvisors.com | +44 7395 357 869
