Heart Health Champions celebrates the people and organisations helping make heart health a priority. From sharing information and raising awareness to inspiring healthier choices, our Champions use their platforms, expertise, experiences and everyday actions to educate and empower others to take care of their hearts.
Whether helping people better understand their heart health, make informed choices or reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), we’ve recognised each of our Champions for the positive impact they are already making.
Congratulations to our first-ever list of Heart Health Champions, honoured in line with World Heart Day 2026. Read more about each of them below.
Meet the champions
Cameron McGerr
Cameron McGerr is a 17-year-old student from Gourock, Scotland, and the founder of Pulse of Life, a campaign calling for CPR education in secondary schools. View his profile to learn more.
Jenniffer Swain
Dr Jenniffer Swain is a cardiologist based in Mexico City, with a focus on cardiovascular prevention and women’s heart health. View her profile to learn more.
Lioba Joseph
Dr Lioba Joseph is a physician and consultant with One New Heart Tanzania, working to improve cardiovascular health through education, outreach, advocacy and early detection. View her profile to learn more.
Martha Gulati
Dr Martha Gulati is a cardiologist and Professor at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Centre, where she is the inaugural Director of the Davis Women’s Heart Centre. View her profile to learn more.
Michelle Routhenstein
Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN is a preventive cardiology dietitian and founder of Entirely Nourished, a virtual nutrition practice focused on personalised, evidence-based heart-health advice. View her profile to learn more.
Monisola Adanijo
Dr Monisola Adanijo is a consultant cardiologist in Lagos with more than 20 years of experience in cardiovascular care, education and prevention. View her profile to learn more.
Olawale Ogunlana
Dr Olawale Ogunlana is a medical doctor, health advocate and digital health innovator with more than 14 years of clinical experience. View his profile to learn more.
Purvi Parwani
Dr Purvi Parwani is a board-certified cardiologist and Associate Professor at Loma Linda University, where she directs an echocardiography lab and conducts research on cardiovascular imaging and women’s heart disease. View her profile to learn more.
Rigved Tadwalkar
Dr Rigved Tadwalkar is a cardiologist and Partner at Pacific Heart Institute in Los Angeles, specialising in cardiovascular imaging, cardiometabolic health and cardiac rehabilitation. View his profile to learn more.
Samana Sayed
Dr Samana Sayed is a cardiopulmonary physiotherapist, educator and co-founder of YOU360 Healthcare & Academy, working across Mumbai and Dubai. View her profile to learn more.
Shiksha Alochana
Shiksha Alochana is a voluntary collective of teachers, academics and social activists working to strengthen primary education and community health across West Bengal. View profile to learn more.
Vanessa Cutting
Vanessa Cutting is a Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) survivor, former fitness trainer and content creator focused on women’s heart health. View her profile to learn more.
Ifeyinwa Omesiete
Ifeyinwa Omesiete is a paediatric nutrition consultant and co-founder of Nutrition4kidsng, a platform that empowers families to build healthy eating habits for their children from an early age. View her profile to learn more.
This is just the beginning. Heart Health Champions is an ongoing initiative bringing together people and organisations to keep heart health on the agenda all year round.
Know someone who is a Heart Health Champion? Let us know by emailing heartchampions@worldheart.org