FAMILIES URGED TO JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST HEART DISEASE AND STROKE THIS WORLD HEART DAY
FAMILIES URGED TO JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST HEART DISEASE AND STROKE THIS WORLD HEART DAY
The World Heart Federation is calling on individuals in every home around the world, to join the fight against cardiovascular disease (CVD) this World Heart Day. The One World, One Home, One Heart campaign aims to help individuals to take charge of their family’s heart health by highlighting the steps that can be taken in the home to prevent CVD, including heart disease and stroke.
CVD is the world’s biggest killer, accounting for more than one out of every 10 deaths. However, through actions such as eating a healthy diet, regular physical activity and avoiding tobacco, the majority of these deaths could be prevented.
“The home environment is a “critical zone” for behaviours that can put families at risk of CVD, such as being inactive, eating unhealthily, and smoking or exposing children to second-hand smoke. Since this is the place where family members influence each other and establish behaviour, people can make a big impact on their heart health by taking steps within their home to counter CVD risks,” said Professor Sidney C. Smith Jr., MD President of the World Heart Federation.
By adapting a few household behaviours, people all over the world can lead longer and better lives through the prevention and control of CVD. For example, in many cultures the home has become a setting in which inactive lifestyles are adopted, with televisions and computers used regularly as a form of relaxation. However, just 30 minutes of activity on most – if not all – days of the week can help prevent CVD. Organizing outdoor activities with family members such as a long walk or simply playing games in the garden are good ways to incorporate more physical exercise into daily life at home.
To help families tackle CVD risk, national activities such as public talks and screenings, walks and runs, concerts or sporting events are being organized worldwide by members and partners of the World Heart Federation to help mark World Heart Day.
Despite World Heart Day encouraging individuals to tackle heart health risks in their home, the One World, One Home, One Heart campaign also recognizes that many individuals have limited choices when it comes to heart-healthy behaviour, due to constraints from their living environment or economic circumstances. For example, around one billion people live in urban slums, informal settings, or sidewalk tents. In these conditions, people have very little choice about food, physical activity and even exposure to tobacco smoke. The impact of city-life on the heart health of children is detailed within a new report to be launched by the World Heart Federation around World Heart Day.
With this in mind, the World Heart Federation is calling for a whole-society approach to preventing CVD. “Globalization has created a shift in how people live, which has made all of us more vulnerable to CVD” explains Johanna Ralston, Chief Executive Officer at the World Heart Federation. “Heart healthiness is therefore everyone’s responsibility. Governments and partners need to work closely with industries to create heart-healthy living environments. Individuals who have the option should choose healthier behaviours and encourage their family members to do the same. This World Heart Day, we can all work together to reduce CVD risks and become advocates for heart health in the home.”
World Heart Day provides an important global rallying cry for everyone to take action in the home, to prevent CVD and improve the whole family’s heart health.
Contact details
Cynthia Haro
Membership & Campaigns Coordinator
+41 22 807 03 25
Charanjit Jagait, PhD
Director of Communications & Advocacy
+41 22 807 03 34
+41 796 253 296
Notes to Editors
About World Heart Day
World Heart Day was created by the World Heart Federation in 2000 to inform people around the globe that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading cause of death, claiming 17.1 million lives each year. Together with its members, the World Heart Federation spreads the news that at least 80% of premature deaths from heart disease and stroke could be avoided if the main risk factors, tobacco, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, are controlled.
More information about World Heart Day, including World Heart Day leaflets and posters, is available at www.worldheartday.org.
About the World Heart Federation
The World Heart Federation is dedicated to leading the global fight against heart disease and stroke, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries, via a united community of more than 200 member organizations. With its members, the World Heart Federation works to build global commitment to addressing cardiovascular health at the policy level, generates and exchanges ideas, shares best practice, advances scientific knowledge and promotes knowledge transfer to tackle cardiovascular disease – the world’s number one killer. It is a growing membership organization that brings together the strength of cardiac societies and heart foundations from more than 100 countries. Through our collective efforts we can help people all over the world to lead longer and better heart-healthy lives.
For more information, please visit: www.worldheart.org
Follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/worldheartfed
Join their Facebook page: facebook.com/worldheartfederation
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