Charity Spotlight: Irish Heart Foundation
Fight for families affected by cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke.
We'd like to know about your charity. Tell us who you are and what inspired the creation of your charity.
The Irish Heart Foundation is Irelands national charity dedicated to fighting to protect the cardiovascular health of everyone in Ireland. Each year almost 9,000 people die from heart disease and stroke, one of the country’s biggest killers. Our charity was born out of that reality and out of determination to change it. Serving heart and stroke patients, their loved ones and the public since 1966, our mission is to stop people dying prematurely from heart disease and stroke. Our work has evolved significantly over the past five decades, but there is still lots to do to eliminate preventable death and disability from heart disease and stroke, and to support and care for those living with these life-changing conditions.
Today that founding inspiration still drives everything we do. Our work is guided by one vision, A future where no hearts are broken by preventable heart disease and stroke.
What impact does your work have on the community?
Our work touches communities across Ireland every day. We advocate for hearts across Ireland, striving for better services both in and out of hospital and fighting for policies that will protect everyone’s heart health into the future. This includes fighting to ban junk food marketing to children and alleviating gaps in health care.
We provide programmes and courses such as Activate Your Life, Aphasia Café and Fatigue Management, for individuals recovering from a stroke or cardiac event, as well as CPR 4 Schools and Action for Life, which are delivered in schools throughout the country. These programs empower individuals by giving them information and tools to look after their hearts. Last year over 350,000 students had the opportunity to learn the lifesaving skill of CPR through our flagship program for secondary school students.
The Irish Heart Foundation’s Mobile Health Unit also travels around the country offering free heart health checks to members of the public.
Would you like to share a success story that really represents what you do?
In 2012, Maura was helping out at the Women in Agriculture Conference in Killarney when she decided to visit the Irish Heart Foundation’s Mobile Health Unit for a free heart health check. The Irish Heart Foundation nurses took Maura’s blood pressure and told her it was sky-high. She was advised to visit her GP who told her to buy a blood pressure monitor so she could regularly check her blood pressure at home. Within a few days of her initial heart health check with the Irish Heart Foundation, Maura was admitted to hospital with very high blood pressure.
“By the time I got to the emergency department, it was 226 over 118,” she recalls, saying that the doctors were amazed she had not had a stroke or heart attack due to her high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is sometimes known as a silent killer, as many people have no symptoms and no idea they are living with high blood pressure.
“If not for the Irish Heart Foundation doing free health checks that day, I might not be here today,”
Since being diagnosed with high blood pressure, Maura has been managing the condition with medication and lifestyle changes. Coming so close to having a stroke or heart attack was a wake-up call for Maura to make changes from her lifestyle to prioritise her health.
How has being part of the Vhi Women's Mini Marathon supported your charity's mission?
Being part of the Vhi Women's Mini Marathon has been such a powerful way for the Irish Heart Foundation to bring our mission to life. It especially helps us to increase awareness of a crucial social issue: the risk of heart disease and stroke in women, and the need for women to prioritise their cardiovascular health.
1 in 4 women die from heart disease and stroke – the same as men – yet research has shown that heart disease in women has been under-researched, under-diagnosed, and under-treated for far too long.
The good news is that 80% of premature heart disease and stroke can be prevented by a healthy lifestyle. As well as making heart-healthy lifestyle changes, it’s important to be aware of the symptoms of heart attack. Women are less likely than men to recognise the symptoms of heart attack and take longer than men to get medical help and treatment after experiencing one.
Through the passion and dedication of participants, the Vhi Women's Mini Marathon helps us reach more people, strengthen our impact and continue working towards a future where no more loved ones are needlessly lost.
Contact Info:
Telephone: +353 1 6685001 | Email: hello@irishheart.ie | Website: Irish Heart Foundation – The National Heart and Stroke Charity