Celebrating the Success of 2024’s Heart Failure Awareness Week

In case you missed it, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society participated in this year’s Heart Failure (HF) Awareness Week, which took place from May 5-11. This annual initiative is organized by the Canadian Heart Failure Society, along with partners including the CCS, the Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses, the Canadian Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, the Canadian Heart Function Alliance, Heart & Stroke, HeartLife Foundation, and the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research.

Year 2024 marked the sixth annual HF Awareness Week. Support for the event has been steadily growing annually, and this year saw official proclamations in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Major landmarks across the country were lit up in red to recognize HF Awareness Week, including the CN Tower in Toronto; BC Place Stadium, Canada Place Sails of Light, and Science World in Vancouver; the Ottawa sign in the ByWard Market, and Montreal’s Olympic Tower.

Heart & Stroke and HeartLife Foundation presented a webinar “It’s Not Normal to be Breathless – Understanding Heart Failure: Signs, Symptoms and Advocacy” in English and French on May 7 and 13. Recordings for both sessions will be made available soon.

Dr. Seema Nagpal, CCS Chief Science Officer, joined HeartLife Foundation to meet with members of Parliament and senators on Parliament Hill to build awareness of and support for the HeartLife Foundation’s National Heart Failure Policy Framework.

HF Awareness Week 2024 garnered media attention, and several representatives were interviewed. Marc Bains with HeartLife Foundation appeared on BC Global News; you can see the clip here. A segment featuring Marc Bains and CCS member Dr. Stephanie Poon aired on CTV Toronto, which you can view here. CBC Morning radio in St. John’s interviewed Rody Pike, a nurse practitioner, along with a person with lived experience and a heart function clinic doctor, which you can listen to here.  

Thanks to all who helped promote heart failure awareness by sharing our messaging on social media. The #HeartFailureWeekCan hashtag reached more than 1.3 million impressions during the seven days of the event!  

Stay tuned for details on Heart Failure Awareness Week 2025 at heartfailure.ca.