World Heart Day (WHD), organised each year on 29^th September by the World Heart Federation (WHF) with the support of UEFA, the WHF’s official health partner.  WHD aims to increase global awareness, educate people about cardiovascular disease (CVD), the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle and, this year, to promote heart-healthy environments. Working together with the European football family, we can contribute to a reduction in premature mortality due to CVD.

CVD, including heart disease and stroke, is the world’s number one killer. Each year, CVD is responsible for 17.3 million premature deaths, and by 2030 this is expected to rise to 23 million. Yet most premature deaths caused by CVD can be prevented by addressing risk factors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, all of which are strongly linked to a person’s environment.

Today, we want to make sure that people from all countries and backgrounds take the opportunity to make healthy heart choices, wherever they live, work and play. Join the cause for healthy heart choices for everyone, everywhere by taking a Healthy Heart Selfie and sharing it on Twitter using the hashtags #WHD2015 and #heartchoices.

Dr Salim Yusuf, President, World Heart Federation explains the importance of World Heart Day: “We have an opportunity to reduce the burden of heart disease and stroke and to change the course of these diseases and their global impact, by encouraging and supporting healthy heart choices for everyone, everywhere. On World Heart Day, over 120 countries are joining together to encourage individuals, families, communities and governments to take action to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. I urge everyone to join us and get involved, no matter how small the effort, it all counts.”

Football Supports World Heart Day

For many years, UEFA has been working with the World Heart Federation, European Healthy Stadia Network and the football family across Europe, to promote healthy active lifestyles and to prevent obesity and cardiovascular disease. The major annual global campaign ‘World Heart Day’ is one of the initiatives supported, this year including FF BIH, as the partnership calls on football fans to participate in regular physical activity, such as football, walking and cycling, and to adopt a healthier diet in order to reduce the risk of CVD.

UEFA healthy eating video: To help football fans and their families make heart-healthy choices, why not check out the new video from UEFA featuring Nacho Monreal, Ivan Rakitić, Alvaro Arbeloa and others talking about the importance of a healthy diet for both performance on the pitch and as part of an overall healthy lifestyle http://www.uefa.org/video/videoid=2285769.html?autoplay=true#latest

To find out more about this year’s World Heart Day and to get involved, please visit: www.worldheartday.org