National Heart Foundation of Australia

The National Heart Foundation of Australia (known as the Heart Foundation) is a charity established in 1959. Its activities have been funding cardiovascular research, supporting health professionals in their practice, developing health promotion activities, informing and educating the public and assisting people with cardiovascular disease. It describes its mission as "to reduce heart disease and improve the heart health and quality of life of all Australians through our work in Risk Reduction, Support, Care and Research."[2]

National Heart Foundation of Australia
Founded1959
Registration no.ABN 98 008 419 761
Area served
Commonwealth of Australia
Key people
Chief Executive Officer
David Lloyd
Revenue
A$49,500,000 (2021)[1]
Websiteheartfoundation.org.au

History

The organisation emerged after tuberculosis had been effectively removed as a health concern and after the successful establishment of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. A group of concerned Sydney professionals meet with the trustees of R.T Hall Trust and members of the New South Wales government health services in July 1958 and decided to form the National Heart Foundation of Australia.[3]

Programs

Supporting and informing

The foundation provides people with, and at risk of, cardiovascular disease information and guidance on how to minimise their risk. Annually, the organisation distributes more than 1.3 million heart health brochures. Each year, the Heart Foundation's information service and its website provides heart health information to thousands of Australians.

Partnerships

The foundation supports and works with all levels of government, other health organisations, the media and community groups and food manufacturers to implement policies and programmes that attempt to improve the cardiovascular health of Australians. This includes programmes on cardiovascular health risks such as smoking or physical inactivity, through to recovery and rehabilitation and diet. The foundation has partnered with the Health Star Rating System by assisting in monitoring the uptake and compliance of the Health Star Rating on applicable products.[4] The foundation's collected data has been used in the formal reviews of the Health Star Rating and provided help in making the system more effective and accurate.[5]

Improving care

The foundation claims to take the latest research and creates practical treatment tools for health practitioners. The foundation attempts to bridge gaps in care through programs specifically targeting those Australians at higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

Building healthy communities

The foundation supports local governments that change neighbourhoods to create healthier communities. Initiatives by councils, such as building cycleways and upgrading walking paths are eligible for Heart Foundation Local Government Awards (to be renamed Heart Foundation Healthy Community Awards in 2011).

Promoting awareness

Through community education campaigns and media activities, the foundation promotes lifestyle changes to improve the heart health of Australians. Recent examples include the Warning Signs campaign, which raises awareness of the symptoms of a heart attack and of the need to phone 000 so that sufferers can get early treatment to have the best chance for survival.

Dietary advice

The foundation's "Healthy Eating Principles" include plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grains with a variety of protein sources such as fish and seafood, lean poultry with a restriction on red meat.[6][7]

The foundation recommends a diet low saturated fat and trans fat whilst rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as avocados, unsalted nuts, seeds and oily fish like salmon and sardines.[8][9] The foundation have noted that milk, yoghurt and cheese can be eaten as part of a heart-healthy diet but butter, cream and ice cream are not recommended as heart-healthy.[10][11]

In 2019, the foundation released a position statement on full fat dairy products, "Based on current evidence, there is not enough evidence to recommend full fat over reduced fat products or reduced fat over full fat products for the general population. For people with elevated cholesterol and those with existing coronary heart disease, reduced fat products are recommended."[10]

See also

References
  1. "2021 Annual Review" (PDF). National Heart Foundation of Australia. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  2. "About Us". heartfoundation.org.au. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  3. Milton James, Lewis (2003). The People's Health: Public Health in Australia, 1950 to the Present. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 50. ISBN 0313320454. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  4. Health, Australian Government Department of, Review of the progress of implementation after two years (27 June 2014 to 26 June 2016), Australian Government Department of Health, retrieved 6 June 2019
  5. Maganja, Damian; Buckett, Kevin; Stevens, Cherylyn; Flynn, Elizabeth (6 March 2019). "Consumer choice and the role of front-of-pack labelling: the Health Star Rating system". Public Health Research & Practice. 29: 1–6.
  6. "Heart Healthy Eating Patterns". heartfoundation.org. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  7. "Meat & Heart Healthy Eating". heartfoundation.org.au. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  8. "Fats, oils and heart health". heartfoundation.org.au. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  9. "Dietary Fat and Heart Healthy Eating". resources.heartfoundation.org.au. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  10. "Dairy & Heart Healthy Eating". heartfoundation.org.au. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  11. "Full-fat dairy is OK, says the Heart Foundation, but watch your meat intake". healthdirect.gov.au. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
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