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GENEVA (7 September 2021) – The World Heart Federation (WHF) has developed a new policy brief aimed at reducing the negative impacts of air pollution on people’s cardiovascular and overall health. Together with high blood pressure, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity, air pollution is one of the most important risk factors for heart attack, stroke, […]

In the post-pandemic world, health systems continue to brace for impact. And that impact is with the rising rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD), overweight and obesity. This increased burden matters. Because the science is clear: obesity is associated with higher rates of CVD deaths and disability. Like CVD, rates of overweight and obesity are influenced […]

GENEVA (29 August 2021) – A combination therapy of aspirin, statins and at least two blood pressure medications given in fixed doses can slash the risk of fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) by more than half, says an international study involving researchers from the World Heart Federation and published today in The Lancet. The fixed-dose combination (FDC) […]

Geneva (29 August, 2021) – More than 4,000 patients from at least 22 countries are participating in a new global WHF COVID-19 Study, with around 79 per cent coming from Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Analysis of the first half of patients is proving vital in many ways. For example, the study is helping […]

This is a statement made at the 71st Session of the World Health Organization RCM for the AFRO Region on Agenda item 14: Framework for implementing the Global strategy on digital health in the WHO African Region. Honourable Chair, distinguished delegates, On behalf of the World Heart Federation, we commend the leadership role that […]

The number of adults aged 30-79 living with hypertension has doubled from 650 million to 1.28 billion since 1990 and more than 700 million people are living with untreated hypertension, according to the first comprehensive global analysis of trends in hypertension prevalence, detection, treatment and control, published today in The Lancet. In what can be […]

Guest post: Christine Katusiime, RHD Patient Support Group-UHI The RHD Patient Support Group in Uganda was started in 2015 by a group of patients diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) attending the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) cardiac clinic in Kampala. This group is composed of patients who have had different experiences with RHD. Some have […]

The European Respiratory Society (ERS) and thirteen partner organisations have written to the World Health Organization (WHO) to call on WHO to proceed with the rapid publication and dissemination of the 2021 update to the WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs). Read the open letter below. We are leading medical, public health, and scientific societies and patients’ organizations […]

Guest post: Dr. César Berenstein, Argentine Society of Cardiology Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide, causing more than 18 million deaths in 2019. On the other hand, air pollution caused 6.7 million deaths in 2019, 50% of which are due to cardiovascular disease. It is also important to consider that air […]

WASHINGTON/GENEVA (13 July 2021) — Clinician well-being is imperative to providing high-quality patient care, yet clinician burnout continues to increase, especially over the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four leading cardiovascular organizations – the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the European Society of Cardiology and the World Heart Federation – […]

As the world struggles to fight COVID-19, we’ve never been more aware of the importance of our and our loved one’s health. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the world’s number one killer, resulting in 18.6 million deaths a year. It has many causes: from smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, to air pollution, and less […]