UK Charity Heart Valve Voice Win World Heart Federation Award For Valve Disease Campaign

UK heart valve disease charity, Heart Valve Voice, has recently been awarded a World Heart Federation Award for their 2022 National Education Campaign.

The campaign aimed to teach half a million over 65s about heart valve disease, its symptoms, and how they’re detected and treated. This common, serious, but treatable condition affects 1.5 million people in the UK, however, awareness of the symptoms remains low.

The campaign saw the charity reach millions of over 65s, with half a million people going to their website to learn about the signs and symptoms of valve disease. Of the people who were educated on heart valve disease, 98% were able to correctly identify the symptoms, and what to do if they or their loved ones experience them.

Their SLOW campaign aims to promote awareness of the symptoms. SLOW stands for Shortness of breath, Lightheadedness on exertion, feeling Older than your age and Weary. It was developed by patients, highlighting the symptoms that indicated their heart valve was faulty. So far it has been viewed nearly 300,000 times.

The World Heart Federation award recognises the ambition of the campaign, its creativity, and its impact on cardiovascular health in the UK.

As part of the campaign, the charity travelled across the UK offering free heart checks to the public and teaching them about heart valve disease. At these events, anyone over the age of 50 was invited for a stethoscope check and a pulse check. They listened to thousands of hearts across the country and found 10% of those who attended had an undecided cardiac condition.

One patient who owes his life to the campaign is Robert Fowler, 87, from Leeds, “I visited the heart check event in Leeds and after having some heart checks I was given a GP letter by the staff there and was referred to my local cardiology team. I needed to have a heart procedure, which I had on 3rd February. I feel so lucky, as had I not got on the bus my heart problem could have got a lot worse, like a stroke or heart attack. I would urge anyone to visit the bus – you might find something that could save your life.”

Heart Valve Voice Executive Director, Wil Woan, said: “I’m incredibly proud to see our Education Campaign recognised with this prestigious award. Huge credit must go to the team, who worked tirelessly on this campaign throughout the year, and whose ambition and dedication to helping others drove the campaign forward.”

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