Heart Foundation: 50 years of commitment
For half a century, the Swiss Heart Foundation has been working to combat heart disease and stroke. Its main concerns are the promotion of a heart-healthy lifestyle, information and support for research.
Cardiovascular diseases and cerebral stroke are among the most significant civilization diseases of Western societies and are the number one cause of death in Switzerland. Due to the aging of the population, the number of people affected continues to increase. The Swiss Heart Foundation has been working to combat these diseases for 50 years: By promoting a heart-healthy lifestyle, informing the population and supporting research.
Education and prevention
The Swiss Heart Foundation is mainly financed by donations. Since its foundation, benefactors have entrusted it with more than 122.5 million Swiss francs. In recent years, this has enabled the Foundation to spend around 6.5 million Swiss francs annually on research funding and patient information, as well as on projects, programs and campaigns in education and prevention. In its anniversary year, the Swiss Heart Foundation will be taking additional measures specifically to promote the health and quality of life of the Swiss population. The foundation is independent and ZEWO-certified.
Resinous beginnings
It was not an easy start for the foundation, as it explains in an Anniversary article writes: In 1967, awareness of cardiovascular diseases was not yet very pronounced. But the fact that the Heart Foundation was founded at precisely this time is nevertheless no coincidence: many diseases are in decline, but more and more people are suffering from cardiovascular diseases. At the same time, the South African heart surgeon Christiaan Barnard succeeded in performing the first heart transplant - with huge media coverage.
And yet, research in the field of cardiovascular diseases was hardly funded at that time. The newly established foundation was intended to change this: The initial aim was to fund research projects focused on heart disease.
After a rather rocky start, the foundation carried out its first campaigns. This was followed by information pamphlets on ECG, healthy heart, cookbooks and later even the first CD-ROM. The information brochures were initially controversial among physicians: Not everyone was thrilled that patients now had information at their disposal and that the doctor had to give up his status as the "demigod in white."
Heart and brain
Support for research was gradually joined by the areas of prevention and early detection. And the focus on specific diseases also broadened: beyond heart disease proper, the aim was to address the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and all their associated consequences - thus including stroke. In 2000, the foundation launched the first stroke campaign.
Today, the Heart Foundation is heavily involved in educational work: Information on cholesterol and blood pressure, exercise, smoking cessation and life-saving programs, and workplace health promotion are among its activities. Today, there are more than 70 titles in the information offering, an advice hotline and Internet advice. In addition, there are heart groups for patients, lectures and seminars, and support for thirty to forty research projects per year.
Special stamp
Swiss Post is honoring the anniversary with a special stamp. The special stamp, designed by Bernese graphic artist Jenny Leibundgut Riggs, shows a symbolic heart in the colors of the bloodstream and an electrocardiogram above it. The limited-edition stamp is a special souvenir of the anniversary - and not just for stamp collectors. It is also an expression of solidarity with those affected by cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack and stroke patients or people with a congenital heart defect. The special stamp has a value of 85 centimes and is available now from Swiss Post.
