Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week

September 16 – 22, 2024

Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week

Share This Message!

Our hearts are always there for us, working hard, every day, to keep us going. But sometimes our hearts can become unwell. This can happen when we get older, but can affect younger people too.

Heart Valve Disease is when one or more of the valves in our heart don’t open or close properly. When our valves aren’t working properly our hearts may try to warn us that something’s wrong.

Breathlessness, dizziness or fatigue are all signs you might have Heart Valve Disease. But some people have no symptoms at all.

A simple stethoscope check is the first step to detect Heart Valve Disease. So a regular stethoscope check with your doctor is a good idea.

Heart Valve Disease is common, serious… and treatable. If you feel like something’s wrong, then listen to your heart! #ListenToYourHeart #ValveWeek24

Chinese Mandarin

Dutch

French

French (Canada)

German

Hebrew

Italian

Japanese

Polish

Portuguese

Spanish

Spanish (Latin America)

To commemorate this year’s Heart Valve Disease awareness week, Global Heart Hub is delighted to partner with Heart Valve Voice Canada for this patient-centred webinar on shared decision-making for heart valve disease. We are pleased to feature a distinguished panel of experts who will discuss the importance of shared decision-making to improve patient outcomes.

Empower Webinar:

A Patient’s Guide to Shared Decision-Making for Heart Valve Disease

Watch the recorded session in English!

Un Guide pour les Patients sur la Prise de Décision Partagée sur les Maladies Valvulaires Cardiaques

Watch the recorded session in French!

What is heart valve disease?

Heart Valve Disease is a medical condition that occurs when one or more of the four valves in our heart don’t work properly. Heart valves are one-way gates at each of the points where blood enters or exits the heart. They maintain proper flow of blood through our bodies.

There are different ways that heart valves can stop working properly. Sometimes valves don’t fully open, so less blood gets through. Sometimes valves don’t fully close and leak, allowing blood to flow the wrong way. Symptoms like breathlessness, dizziness or fatigue may not appear for years and may vary.

When the blood doesn’t flow smoothly through the heart it can cause a heart murmur. Your doctor can hear this murmur with a stethoscope.

Heart valve disease is common, serious, but treatable. A simple stethoscope check is the first step to detecting Heart Valve Disease. So, a regular stethoscope check with your doctor is a good idea.

Watch the videos below!

What is Heart Valve Disease?
Chinese Mandarin

What is Heart Valve Disease?
Dutch

What is Heart Valve Disease?
English

What is Heart Valve Disease?
French

What is Heart Valve Disease?
French (Canada)

What is Heart Valve Disease?
German

What is Heart Valve Disease?
Hebrew

What is Heart Valve Disease?
Italian

What is Heart Valve Disease?
Japanese

What is Heart Valve Disease?
Polish

What is Heart Valve Disease?
Portuguese

What is Heart Valve Disease?
Spanish

What is Heart Valve Disease?
Spanish (Latin America)

Women and heart valve disease

Women and Heart Valve Disease:

Interview with Dr Marie-Annick Clavel

Why creating awareness about Heart Valve Disease is so important

Heart valve disease has been described as ‘the next cardiac epidemic’. This Awareness Week is important, not only to raise awareness of the disease but also to make the population more aware of the symptoms so that they can seek the help they need at the right time. It is also important that clinicians provide their patients, especially those who are over the age of 65, with regular stethoscope exams as these are the key to detecting heart valve disease.

One out of eight people over the age of 75 suffers from moderate to severe heart valve disease, which involves damage to one or more of the heart’s valves. It is estimated that the number of people living with heart valve disease will double by 2040 and triple by 2060.

Heart Valve Disease prevalence is rising rapidly due to the ageing of the population. People are living longer and older people are crucial contributors to society and the economy. Untreated valve disease is a barrier to active ageing but conversely, early detection and timely treatment will increase longevity and quality of life.

Often heart valve disease patients are diagnosed only when they see a healthcare professional for a regular check-up or for some other issue. The seriousness of heart valve disease, combined with the fact that the symptoms are often difficult to detect or dismissed as a normal part of ageing, can often result in troublesome or dangerous consequences.

Hear from our Council Members this Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week!

Annie Costelloe,
Croí, Ireland

Callum Ferguson,
Heart Valve Voice UK

Elena Gallego,
AEPOVAC, Spain

Ellen Ross,
Heart Valve Voice Canada

Gil Meltzer,
Israeli Heart Association

Hitoshi Fukuhara,
Heart Valve Voice Japan

Luciana Valente,
Cuore Nostro, Italy

Jens Näumann,
Initiative Herzklappe, Germany

Jodi Smith,
WomenHeart, USA

Katja Teichert,
Meine Herzklappe, Austria

Valéria Fernandes,
Instituto Lado a Lado pela Vida, Brazil

Materials to download:

Watch the videos below to hear from people living with heart valve disease

Brenda’s Story

Dave, Canada

Sandra, Ireland

Scott, USA

Klaus, Germany

Cruz, Spain

Sri, Norway

Veronika, Switzerland

Editha’s Story

Get Involved

To join the campaign or for more information, please email info@globalhearthub.org.

Campaign Partners

Global Heart Hub Heart Valve Disease Patient Council

The awareness week is led by the Global Heart Hub, the umbrella group for cardiovascular patient organisations, including:

Supported by:

Edwards