World Heart Day

Every year World Heart Day is celebrated on 29 September. This day creates  awareness about heart disease and stroke which is the world's leading cause of death. According to World Heart Federation, heart disease and stroke are the world's leading causes of death claiming around 18.6 million lives each year.

The aim of the day is to educate people by controlling risk factors like tobacco use, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity, etc. Due to this, at least 80% of premature deaths could be avoided from heart disease and stroke.

This year's campaign theme is "Use Heart to Connect." It focuses on an urgent need to find various and innovative ways to connect people to heart health, mainly in lower resource areas and communities. Smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, air pollution and less common conditions like Chagas disease and cardiac amyloidosis are all causes of cardiovascular disease. Hence, it is important to look after our heart by eating a healthy diet, saying no to tobacco and getting plenty of exercise.

The World Heart Federation (WHF) and World Heart Organisation announced the establishment of World Heart Day in 1999. The idea for this event was conceived by the former President of the World Heart Federation, Antoni Bayes de Luna.