At the forefront of everything we do are people – people living with cardiovascular disease, people treating cardiovascular disease, people working to prevent cardiovascular disease… We are here to tell their stories in an effort to help others live longer, happier, healthier lives.
Storytelling
The beat of change: rheumatic heart disease in Mozambique
Reforming rural healthcare: hypertension in Kenya
From small steps to systemic shifts
Voices of Chagas: A disease that knows no borders
HEART HEROES
Cardiologists, healthcare professionals, policymakers, patients and their family members and friends are the heroes among us – battling, treating and beating heart disease.
Throughout the year, WHF celebrates Heart Heroes by writing the unique stories of people and teams dedicated and committed to improving cardiac health and reducing cardiovascular disease.
USE ❤️ TO BREATHE
Pulmonary hypertension is a type of high blood pressure that affects the arteries in the lungs and the right side of the heart. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is one form of pulmonary hypertension, where blood vessels in the lungs are narrowed, blocked or destroyed1. It is a rare, life-threatening disease with a poor prognosis.
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Use ❤️ to Act Now on Angina
More than 100 million people globally are affected by angina, which manifests in a variety of ways. For this reason, symptoms may be hard to recognize and patients often remain undiagnosed and untreated.
This global campaign aims to increase awareness of angina and its symptoms in order to facilitate early detection and implement optimal angina management.
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USE ❤️ TO stop flu
Seasonal influenza, commonly called the flu, is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses which circulate in all parts of the world. Following the onset of infection, people with cardiovascular disease are at higher risk of stroke and heart attacks.
This global campaign aims to increase awareness of the risks caused by the flu for people with cardiovascular disease and its most cost-effective preventive action: influenza vaccination.
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Use ❤️ to Season with Sense
Unhealthy diets are a leading global public health risk, contributing to a rise in obesity and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. In the current food environment, dietary patterns have shifted, and people are consuming more foods high in saturated fats, trans fat, sugar or sodium.
This global campaign aims to make more people aware of the negative effects that consuming too much sodium can have on our health.
Colours to Save Hearts
RHD is the most commonly acquired heart disease in people under 25
Colours to Save Hearts is an initiative aimed at raising awareness of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) among children, teachers and parents, and educate them about the link between sore throat and rheumatic heart disease, how to recognise symptoms and what to do when they first appear.
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Heart to Heart
Inviting conversation to change our ways and beat CVD
Heart to Heart is a new series of debates which bring together expert voices from different sectors and disciplines around the world. As the leader of the global heart community, we want to open a conversation about changing our ways as societies and individuals to beat cardiovascular disease. And as CVD continues to be the biggest cause of death on the planet, it’s the world’s most urgent conversation to have.
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GUARDIANS FOR HEALTH Lighthouse Award
Improving cardiovascular and renal outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is one of the leading causes of premature cardiovascular mortality and a significant risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney disease. However, less than 10% of people living with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease receive all guideline-recommended treatments.
This award, funded by Boehringer Ingelheim, recognizes healthcare professionals’ efforts to reduce the burden of cardiovascular and kidney disease in type 2 diabetes.
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World Heart Podcast
Conversations from the Heart, presented by WHF Senior Science Advisor Dr Pablo Perel and Communications Director Borjana Pervan
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World Heart Awards
The World Heart Awards are all about celebrating organizations and individuals who have gone above and beyond in their quest to fight cardiovascular disease and promote heart health around the world.
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World Heart Grants
Our World Heart Grants support our Members’ efforts to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease in their communities, reduce its burden and impact, and help people live longer, healthier lives.
Learn moreUpcoming health awareness days
View Events Calendar13 October 2023
World Thrombosis Day
16 October 2023
World Food Day
26 October 2023
World Amyloidosis Day
Latest News
Calling attention to the burden of NCDs in children at UNGA78
This is a statement made at the Pan American Health Organization during the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. Honorable Chair, Distinguished Delegates, On behalf of the American Heart Association, the InterAmerican Heart Foundation, the Interamerican Society of Cardiology, the Coalition for Americas’ Health and the World Heart Federation, we applaud the Pan […]
Rheumatic Heart Disease
Ecuador leads global World Heart Day celebrations
The annual celebrations for World Heart Day 2023, aimed at promoting heart health and advocating for universal access to cardiovascular care, are in full swing in Quito, Ecuador. The comprehensive agenda of activities, organised by the Ecuadorian Society of Cardiology (SEC) in partnership with the World Heart Federation (WHF), encompasses a range of events such […]
#UseHeart movement rallies for change as heart disease continues to claim most lives
GENEVA, 29 September 2023 – This World Heart Day, the World Heart Federation (WHF) is urging all sectors and citizens to join forces and take down cardiovascular disease (CVD) from its “number one killer” position. Conditions of the heart or blood vessels including stroke and heart failure killed more than 20 million people in 2021 […]
WHF at UNGA78 in New York
Health was at the top of the global agenda the third week of September with three UN High-Level Meetings addressing Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention and Response (PPPR), and Tuberculosis. World Heart Federation Board Members Tom Gaziano and Diana Vaca Mcghie led the WHF delegation at the UN General Assembly, advocating for heart […]
