Countries involved

FINLAND

It is my pleasure to share with you that the HF working group of the Finnish Cardiac Society will cooperate with the Finnish Heart Association (public health and patient organization) in organizing events for the public, including patients with heart failure and their relatives, to increase the knowledge and understanding about heart failure and its treatment.

The main event will be on May 7th in the afternoon in Helsinki where there will be lectures on HF and the importance of exercise for heart failure patients. 

FRANCE

• Grenoble: local media :  local press, regional daily newspapers, local TV, regional TV (FR3)
• Montpellier; half day event at the university in the town centre
• Nantes: A day organised with  Respecticoeur
• Nice : Event organ with the Club coeur et santé from  Nice plus article in local press
• Paris : local media, conference and stands
• Toulon : Event to be held in Toulon hospital
• Toulouse : Event to be held in Toulouse

BELARUS

This year the Heart Failure Awareness Day is planned for May 2015 in Belarus.
The event includes:

• Holding a press conference entitled "Primary and secondary prevention of heart failure and the problem of orthotopic heart transplantation."
• Lectures for doctors on the issue of CHF.
•  "Schools of chronic heart failure" for patients and their relatives are scheduled for this day. Especially for the date brochure and posters with information about the proper way of life are published.
• Aqua aerobics classes among patients with chronic heart failure and patients after orthotopic heart transplantation are also planned for this day.

TURKEY

• Press conference

The press conference will announce TKD initiatives in coordination with Ministery of Health related to Heart Failure:

Heart Failure Policy Paper

Heart Failure Patients in Turkey – A Snap Shot

Cardiac Rehab Project

The press meeting will be held in a competition format with special activities in which members of the press can experience the symptoms of heart failure such as shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness and reduced ability to exercise and the difficulties that patients experience due to these symptoms. 

Hand-Echo is an option to have an idea about the details about HF

• Climbing stairs:

This activity aims the members of the press to experience heart failure symptoms such fatigue, weakness and reduced ability to exercise.

Each team has a staircase with coloured drawers at the bottom and envelopes on the highest step in the same colours with the drawers.

The teams start at the same time and each member of the team should climb up the stairs, take one of the coloured envelopes at the top, climb down the stairs as fast as he can and take out the question card from the drawer of the same colour. 

The second member starts the race as soon as the first member finishes (like a relay race)

When all the competitors has taken their place, moderators open the cards and ask the questions to the members of the press firstly and want them to make a guess.

Each question will be answered by the speakers afterwards.

Thus, the question-answer session of the press conference will be executed with a creative activity.

At the closing of the press conference, a plate is given to each participant, symbolizing that they become “ A Volunteer of the Awareness of Heart Failure” from now on and a group photograph is taken. 

Finally, if they wish, press members have a chance to take an echocardiography. 

LITHUANIA

For Heart Failure awareness day 2015 in Lithuania we plan to repeat the fruitful discussion with health care politicians „Strategies of Heart Failure Management“ in Seimas (parliament) reminding the plans of establishment of HF clinics in the country. Participants include Chair and members of Parliamentary Health Committee, Minister of Health, President of Lithuanian Cardiology Society, Lithuanian Senior Specialist in Cardiology, President of Association of General Practitioners, representatives of Hygiene Institute, State Health Insurance, pharmaceutical and equipment companies, Head of Lithuanian Cardiology Society HF WG, TV journalists.

Beforehand the important event relevant to HF awareness day took place – visit of delegation led by Lithuanian Minister of Health to HF clinic in Linkoping University (February 3). The aim of the visit was to learn the experience of organization of HF clinic and services and to promote the role of nurses in HF management. The hostess of the meeting was distinguished Prof. Anna Stromberg. The delegation included Lithuanian Minister of Health Rimante Salaseviciute, Advisor to the Minister in Nursing Dalia Guobuziene, Lithuanian Senior Specialist in Cardiology prof. Aleksandras Laucevicius, Head of Lithuanian Cardiology Society HF WG dr. Jelena Celutkiene and HF nurse Edita Lycholip. As a result a regulation document on HF nursing services is currently being prepared by the Lithuanian Ministry of Health.

Traditionally we plan to deliver two public events in two largest cities (in shopping centers): Vilnius (May 9) and Kaunas (May 10). Both events will emphasize the primary prevention of HF, early HF symptoms and lifestyle modification for HF patients. Cardiologists, paediatric cardiologists, rehabilitologists, kinesiotherapist, HF and diabetes nurses, residents and students will participate.

The article about HF main symptoms, causes, treatment possibilities and living recommendations was published in March in a popular weekly “The week” which already gained a great response among HF patients.

Printed material for patients - 2 special booklets on salt intake and basic knowledge on HF topic - are prepared.

ISRAEL

We are planning a much bigger HFAD this year. As opposed to previous years, where individual centres have organized small local events, we're trying to organize things on a more national scale, with a lot of media exposure.

We also "appended" ourselves to a big national cycling event in Jerusalem, with a short walk for HF, LVAD and transplant patients, families and staff and the HF logo appears on the advertisements. There'll be an expo event with booths for explanations on heart disease, healthy living and heart failure.

The cycle event was moved to a week earlier, so we'll be holding the event on May 1st, and not the 8th as originally planned.

GREECE

For the Heart Failure Awareness Day 2015, the working Group of Heart Failure of the Hellenic Society of Cardiology has organized:

Public Events in the Municipalities of the North part of Attica Region, where physicians will have an open discussion about primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, therapeutic issues in heart failure, nutrition guidance.

At the same day an open clinic in the same Municipalities will be supported by cardiologists of the Hellenic Society of Cardiology for elderly individuals and children where ECG, Physical examination and Echocardiography evaluation will be provided.  Also a live demonstration of using ICD and advanced life support will be taken place by the group of medical doctors and nurses of the WG for cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and intensive care of the Hellenic Society of Cardiology.

During all these events, a printed leaflet will be available for all visitors, where the main aspects of how to prevent, control and manage heart failure with all established and new therapeutic methods will be presented. Furthermore, contact information is given for heart failure clinics and rehabilitation programs.

Additionally, an open heart failure and primary prevention clinic will be held for the whole week (4-9/5/2015) at the building of Hellenic Society of Cardiology, where ECG, physical examination and echocardiographic evaluation will be provided especially to individuals with lack of social or private health insurance and poor social-economical status. This open clinic will be supported by radio, broadcast TV advertisements and reports at the official site of Hellenic Society of Cardiology.

Saturday 9th of May, the 1st Cardiology clinic of the University of Athens with the WG for Heart Failure of Hellenic Society of Cardiology, organize their annual scientific meeting on New perspectives in diagnosis and treatment of Heart failure, at Hippokratio Hospital.

Saturday 25th of April the Hellenic Society of Cardiology organizes a 2-days scientific meeting on Heart Failure at Nafplio, a city at the South part of Greece, for all Medical doctors, nurses and health professionals living at this area.

RUSSIA

State level – Web educational marathon for doctors 12-13 May. Russian Heart Failure Society Board Members will give lectures which will be translated in the internet and then placed on the YouTube channel.

TV – interview in state and regional channels

Regional level:

• Patients schools
• Lectures for patients
• Patient educational game
• Conferences for the cardiologists and GPs
• Hot line for patients with HF
• Nurses training course of HF
• Publications in the news papers
• Healthy Heart days for public ( BP, cholesterol and glucose monitoring + healthy life style leaflets distribution)
• Cities who will participate:
  Astrakhan, Arkhangelsk, Barnaul, Cheboksary,  Voronezh, Kazan, Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Kirov, Moscow, Moscow region ( around 15 towns), Pskov,  S-Petersburg, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Ryazan, Samara, Stavropol, Tomsk, Ulyanovsk, Ufa, Volgograd

AUSTRIA

Press conference on the 7th of May with

• president of the heart failure working group of the Austrian Society of Cardiology
• representative of the Austrian Heart Foundation (patient organization)
• general director of the Association of Austrian Social Insurance Institutions
• representative of the Austrian Medical Association

Topic of the press conference: Prevention of heart failure, living with heart failure, and unmet need for structured care and disease management program

In cooperation with the Austrian Heart Foundation, numerous interactive information events for patients, relatives and caregivers in small groups are planned covering the whole of  Austria throughout the year

A position paper on disease management programs is in progress in order to support our ambitions for an official multidisciplinary Austrian-wide DMP

BELGIUM

This year, 20 centres across Belgium are involved:
Since 2010, every year, the Belgian Working Group on Heart Failure and Cardiac Function, in collaboration with the Belgian Cardiologic League, join forces to organize the campaign on a national level (19 participating centres)
Many activities are organized, such as:

• Belgian Heart Failure Charter with up to now more than 12.000 signatures .
• Lectures to patients, their relatives and the general population about heart failure:
• What about heart failure, epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, role of education
• Implementation of a new tool to optimize the follow up of HF patients with an hospitalisation: check-list
• Workshops about ‘heart failure’ diets
  Presentation of the movie ‘L'insuffisance cardiaque, un nouveau parcours pour votre cœur ‘ or “ Hartfalen, een nieuw parcours voor uw hart” (new edition)
• ‘Open house’ in heart failure clinics,
• Panel debates with heart failure cardiologists,
• Offering blood test, blood pressure measurements
• Participation of patient representatives to share their experiences
• Patient testimonials.

This year we also followed the Charter on heart failure for health professionals and the general population. In this charter, we ask for a series of measures to be taken for heart failure in terms of screening, awareness, education, multi-disciplinary approach, cardiac rehabilitation and research.

The objective is to collect as many signatures as we can and to address the signatures to the authorities at the different levels (federal, regional and community), demanding them for measures and decisions to be taken.

The Charters could also be completed on the following links:

• http://www.hart-falen.be/
• http://insuffisance-cardiaque.be/
• http://bwghf.be/

SLOVENIA

• Seminar for heart failure nurses, focusing on pharmacological therapy, with particular emphasis on nurses role in therapy titration
• TTT workshop for all centres delivering care for heart failure patients
• Attendance at sport and recreational activities to promote awareness about heart failure
• Questionnaire survey, focusing on heart failure and chronic kidney disease, for patients and lay public
• Organize activities in all Slovenian hospitals that take care about HF patients
• Lectures
• Open day clinic
• Promotional stands where people get together
• Promotion in local TV, radio, and newspapers
• Interviews with national media, including major newspapers and magazines, TV, and radio
• Promotion of the Global Heart Failure Awareness program

HUNGARY

The annual Congress of Hungarian Society of Cardiology is organized at the same weekend as the Heart Failure Awareness Day (8th, 9th or 10th of May). Therefore, we will take part in this event on 13th of June.

The event includes:

• Posters prepared by ESC HFA and translated into Hungarian will be placed at busy intersections, shopping centres, pharmacies and medical stations at least a week before 13th June.
• On 12-13th June we plan media appearances in the national and local television, radio and in the press.
• On 13th June in the major cities and in several shopping centres in Budapest information desks will be set up with Heart Failure Awareness posters, where we will hold short presentations on heart failure and answer the visitors’ questions.

EGYPT

We are arranging a heart failure symposium  on 7th of May in Cairo.
Next day, 8th of May, we will have a patient symposium concerning heart failure awareness in the National Heart Institute. There will be also a press conference. Flyers and booklets will be distributed at the meeting

DENMARK

Heart Failure Awareness Days 2015 celebrate the 1 year anniversary of a major information campaign launched on HFA days in 2014. Driven by professional journalists and campaign managers at the Danish Heart Association (patient organization), this campaign comprises nationwide activities to promote awareness and knowledge of heart failure.  Educational folders and videos have been produced, and distributed to all heart failure clinics across the country.  

Much activity evolves from the widely distributed heart failure clinics and regional local committees, where dedicated and trained staff arranges open clinics, seminars, informational events etc.  

As previous years, doctors with special interest and expertise in heart failure offer to give lectures and answer questions in local committee meetings. We also aim to feature in national media, preferably in conjunction with patients with encouraging and educational stories to tell.

LATVIA

Latvian Society of Cardiology and Working Group on Heart Failure (WGHF) support activities of Heart Failure Awareness Day 2015. As every year, we are going to organize a public event with lectures related to heart failure issues (diagnostic tools, non-pharmacological therapy, importance of adherence to treatment etc.) to patients and their relatives and everyone who will be interested in heart failure awareness. During this event we will offer blood pressure and heart rate measurements, printed educational materials (new version).

This year in collaboration with patient organization "Par sirdi" ("About heart") we intend to organize two events – one in the centre of Riga and other one some weeks later outside Riga. The information about Heart Failure Awareness day and main activities in advance will be outspread via mass media (radio, websites etc.). We have prepared special edition of newspaper „Sirds un veselība” („Heart and Health”) which will be available in early May and new printed materials for GP’s with target doses of medications and required tests for follow-up visits. As in previous years, Latvian Society of Cardiology and Working Group on Heart Failure (WGHF)  will organize a conference dedicated to heart failure on May 28.

ARMENIA

The Armenia Heart Failure WG plans to conduct Heart Failure awareness days next 8,9 and 10 May.

IRELAND

There are a number of events planned for IHF day

LEBANON

For this year the Heart Failure working group will do activities throughout May; mainly media interviews to increase awareness on Heart failure as well as increasing awareness of physicians through lectures in several areas of Lebanon. Most of the activities will be done mainlyduring the week of May 4 to10.

On Friday 8 and Friday 9, there is a meeting for the journalists  of different programs whether TV magazines or newspaper to lecture them about HF and life style modifications. They in their turn will spread the word on HF to their media.

We will also concentrate on increasing awareness on the Arabic language website of heartfailurematters.org and through our facebook page: heart failure in Lebanon, aiming to increase HF knowledge by sharing the interview and media links as well as the HFA and heartfailurematters website links.

SWITZERLAND

Events on May 7 in Bern – Seminar for physicians (expected attendance 200 physicians) and an awareness event for the general public (expected attendance 600).

SERBIA

We are planning very extensive and dynamic program for Heart failure awareness day in Serbia

MOLDOVA

For the Heart Failure Awareness Day 2015, the Heart Failure working Group and Moldavian Society of Cardiology are planning to provide local events for patients and their relatives, to increase the knowledge about heart failure, its prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Publications in the newspapers, patient’s schools, lectures for patients are scheduled. The booklets with useful information for patients will be distributed
at the events of these days. At the national scale we organize a scientific meeting on Heart Failure for family doctors and cardiologists from our country with media exposure which will be held on 29 May.

POLAND

This year we are going to organize the HF Awareness Day on 13th June. This is the only possible term due to a lot of public activities organized in Cracow this spring. Thanks to our friends in municipal authorities, our meeting will take place on the bank of the Vistula River close to the Wawel Castle Hill! I'm sure it will be a very attractive place and a lot of people will come to participate.

BULGARIA

Our plan is to make some public presentations during the period, as well as to prepare special interviews for CAPITAL magazine and for Bulgarian National Radio.

Free auscultation schedule is planned for two big hospitals.

For the Awareness Days, we have just opened our new cardiosite for patients - cardiosite.eu

MACEDONIA

This year Heart Failure Working Group of MSC organized several activities, as follows:This year, in our focus we had general practitioners, and family medicine specialists, who are the first ring in the chain of health care professionals, who are taking care for heart failure patients. Our intent was to stress the importance of prevention and early diagnosis of heart failure.

Central activity:

SYMPOSIUM ON THE CELEBRATION OF THE "EUROPEAN HEART FAILURE AWARENES DAY", held on Thursday, May 7^th 2015, in Skopje with more than 100 doctors.

TOPICS:

1. “HEART FAILURE” Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Elizabeta Srbinovska Kostovska
2. “HEART FAILURE PREVENTION”: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marija Vavlukis
3. “DRUG TREATMENT OF HEART FAILURE” Lecturer: Assist. Prof. Dr. Lidija Popovska
4. “HEART FAILURE AND COMORBIDITIES” Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Slavco Tosev
5. Discussion

Participation in the survey organized by Universitätsklinik Würzburg Deutsches Zentrum für Herzinsuffizienz, Würzburg, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center (CHFC) (www.dzhi.de), for the second time this year. Last year we also participated in the survey on the knowledge of citizens about heart failure and cerebrovascular disease, this year the survey is again about heart failure and another important co-morbid condition - chronic renal failure.

Presentations in the media, in an attempt to increase general knowledge and awareness of the grpwing problem of the heart failure.

Here is the link to one of the public appearance in the electronic media:

http://www.24vesti.mk/faktor-zdravje-06-05-2015

Presentations on medical web portals, available on the following links:

http://www.mscardiology.org.mk/

http://www.webdoctor.com.mk/

We reached to the general population through banners, posters, leaflets, with the informations about this condition, imbedded in hospital waiting rooms, waiting rooms in the primary care physician offices etc.

The activities were, and are going to be supported by The “Alkaloid” Skopje, Pharmaceutical Company.