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World Heart Day 2025
On September 29, 2025, we celebrate World Heart Day, a key date that reminds us of the importance of prevention and access to care in the face of cardiovascular disease. For La Chaîne de l'Espoir, it's an opportunity to highlight our actions, in particular the echoes® program, which, through its tele-ultrasound platform, makes it possible to refine diagnoses remotely, thus facilitating the care of children with heart defects in countries where access to surgery remains limited.
What is World Heart Day ?
This day was created in 2000 by the World Heart Federation, an international non-governmental organization based in Geneva and founded in 1978. Recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as its principal NGO partner in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, it coordinates World Heart Day each year to raise awareness of cardiovascular health throughout the world.
This year, World Heart Day celebrates its 25th anniversary. Its aims are to :
- Raise awareness of the scale of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the world’s leading cause of death.
- Provide information on prevention methods (physical activity, diet, reducing tobacco and alcohol consumption).
- Encourage governments to make equity in cardiac healthcare a priority, so that everyone has access to quality care, whatever their country or social condition.
According to the WHO, CVD caused 19.8 million deaths in 2022, or 32% of all deaths worldwide.
World Heart Day 2025: La Chaîne de l’Espoir’s actions
Founding action of La Chaîne de l’Espoir, pediatric
pediatric cardiac surgery
remains at the heart of our mission. In 2024, our actions to provide better care for cardiac pathologies were stepped up across 12 countries, focusing on three complementary areas: strengthening local skills, early detection of congenital heart disease and medical-surgical care for children.
622 children operated on
1,400 children screened or monitored
430 professionals trained
2,066 beneficiaries supported in Afghanistan
World Heart Day 2025: “Don’t miss a beat”.
For this 25th World Heart Day, the theme is “Don’t miss a beat”. A slogan that resonates particularly well with La Chaîne de l’Espoir. It emphasizes the time lost due to preventable deaths. Yet for many children with congenital heart disease, early detection is a real matter of survival.
At La Chaîne de l’Espoir, the echoes® teleconsultation platform is a key tool in this screening process. This innovative system gives doctors in 8 countries access to the expertise of French pediatric cardiologists via tele-echography. This innovative system saves lives, trains carers and opens up new perspectives for children suffering from complex cardiac pathologies.
In practical terms, the local doctor performs the cardiac ultrasound on the child, while the images are transmitted in real time to experts in France. This immediate collaborative diagnosis is particularly valuable in regions where paediatric cardiology expertise is scarce. It helps refine diagnoses, guide care and, often, save lives. is here to listen.
According to the WHO, CVD caused 19.8 million deaths in 2022, or 32% of all deaths worldwide.
How can I take part in World Heart Day 2025?
You too can take part in this day. With your support, La Chaîne de l’Espoir can strengthen and expand its actions to save even more children.
Thanks to all the links in this chain of solidarity, thousands of children suffering from heart disease, like Nary and Kodjo, have already been detected, treated and operated on.
Together, let’s make every heartbeat count.
Photo credit: La Chaîne de l’Espoir / Pascal Deloche / Godong
