This World Heart Day, we want everyone to understand what they can do to fuel their hearts and power their lives. We’re sending out the message that your heart is at the heart of your health. And it’s easy to give it the care it deserves. Just a few simple steps such as eating more healthily, cutting down on alcohol and stopping smoking can improve heart health and overall well-being.
World Heart Day is the World Heart Federation’s biggest global awareness raising platform for cardiovascular disease. Since it was launched in 2009, it has grown rapidly and now enjoys huge global participation and support.
World Heart Federation CEO, Johanna Ralston:
“Heart health is at the heart of all health. When you look after your heart it means eating and drinking well, exercising, stopping smoking… all the things that make you not only healthier, but also feel good and able to enjoy your life to the fullest.
“Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disability in the world, killing 17.5 million people a year. That’s a third of all deaths on the planet and half of all non-communicable-disease-related deaths. Around 80% of these deaths are in low- and middle-income countries where human and financial resources are least able to address the CVD burden.
“World Heart Day plays a crucial role in changing all of this. It is a vital global platform that we, as well as our members and supporters, can use to raise awareness and encourage individuals, families, communities and governments to take action now. Together we have the power to reduce the burden of, and premature deaths from, CVD, helping people everywhere to live longer, better, heart-healthy lives.”
How your organization can help increase the power of World Heart Day 2016
There are a number of ways you can get involved:
• Visit the World Heart Day website to find out more, get advice on organizing an event, download the campaign materials and access the online toolkit: www.worldheartday.org.
• Post a supportive message on Twitter/Facebook using the campaign hashtags #worldheartday or #poweryourlife to let your followers know about World Heart Day. There are some sample Tweets to use in the online toolkit at www.worldheartday.org.
• Share a Healthy Heart Selfie using #worldheartday or #healthyheartselfie. Get someone to take a picture of you making a heart with your hands and post it on social media tagging @worldheartfed or email it to worldheartday(at)worldheart.org.
• Coming soon! A Heart IQ online quiz will be launched which lets individuals test how much they know about their heart health. Keep checking the website for more details.
