September 28 is World Heart Day: Know Your Risk
Celebrated annually on the last Sunday of September, World Heart Day encourages healthy heart awareness. Adopt a healthy lifestyle to help maintain a young heart and help prevent heart attacks and strokes: choose a healthy diet, be physically active, and avoid smoking.
Heart disease and stroke are the world's greatest killers, claiming 17.5 million lives a year which represents nearly one third of all deaths in the world.
Since 1999, the World Heart Federation (WHF) and its 189 cardiology societies and heart foundations in more than 100 countries have celebrated World Heart Day. Celebrated annually, on the last Sunday of September, this event and activities leading up to the day, increase public awareness and promote preventive measures to reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke on a global scale.
This year's theme "Know Your Risk" is a call to action to help people better understand their personal risk for cardiovascular disease, including hypertension (high blood pressure). Join people around the world in adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle to help maintain a young heart for life.
The most effective steps you can take to help prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke are:
- Stop smoking
- Eat a healthy diet, including a variety of fruits and vegetables every day
- Exercise regularly, such as brisk walking at least 30 minutes on 5 or more days of the week
- Reduce stress
- Control high blood pressure
- Control cholesterol
- Control your weight
Know your risk:
- Learn more about heart disease risk factors.
- Learn more about World Heart Day*.
- Download a podcast, Listen to Your Heart (
3:19 minutes)
