Cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease and stroke, is one of the most common causes of death in Ireland.

Approximately 10,000 people die each year from cardiovascular disease – including coronary heart disease, stroke and other circulatory diseases.

At the Irish Heart Foundation, we are fighting to improve services that will contribute to a 25% reduction in premature deaths from cardiovascular disease by 2025.

Improving Ireland’s health system for you – the patient.

The Irish Heart Foundation is primarily focused on how the cardiovascular disease patients we represent are best served by the Irish health system.

The OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has identified significant challenges for countries seeking to reduce cardiovascular disease.

Sadly all of these challenges are apparent within the Irish system:

• Rising levels of cardiovascular disease risk factors.
• Delays in diagnoses of cardiovascular disease risk factors;
• Lack of adherence to treatment;
• An aging population leading to more complex health needs;
• And gaps in timely access to specialised care.

Heart Failure in Ireland is set to dramatically increase

90,000 people and 20,000 hospital admissions 

Swollen ankles, breathlessness and extreme tiredness are key symptoms of heart failure, a chronic condition affecting 90,000 people living in Ireland and responsible for 20,000 hospital admissions each year.

Prompt assistance would help people live longer

Because so few people understand how common and life-threatening the condition is, they are not seeking the prompt medical assistance that can save their lives. However, with suitable treatment patients can live an active and comfortable life, preventing the heart function getting worse and helping them live longer.

We need to talk about Heart Failure more

In Ireland, heart failure is among the least talked about, the least understood and the least prominent of chronic diseases.

• 90,000 people have heart failure
• There are 10,000 new cases every year
• Because of population growth, longevity and disease prevalence the number of Irish people affected by heart failure is set to dramatically increase in the next decade.

Focus on community care

The recommendations for heart failure within the Cardiovascular Disease Policy (2010) are underlined by a desire to shift the centre of heart failure care from the hospital to the community setting. The policy proposes the development of an integrated community-based approach to heart failure management, led by primary care teams. A growing body of data, from national and international sources, shows that multidisciplinary care for heart failure, can produce significant reductions in the need for hospitalisation. These recommendations are supported by the Irish Heart Foundation Council on Heart Failure.

Irish Heart Foundation policy submissions

The Irish Heart Foundation has made a number of policy submissions to government and other organisaitons in an effort to improve patient care.

These include:

• Submission on the Future of Healthcare; to support the Oireachtas adopting a 10‐year plan for healthcare (2016) 
• Submission on the General Scheme of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill (2015) 
• Submission to HIQA on draft information governance and management standards for the health identifiers operator (2015) 
• Submission on the GP contract for all children aged under six(2014) 
• Submission on the General Scheme for Advance Healthcare Directives(2014) 
• Submission to the ‘Money follows the Patient’ consultation(2013) 
• Submission to the review of the Fair Deal Scheme(2012) 

For more informaiton on our submissions please contact our Policy Manager, Kathryn Reilly email:  kreilly@irishheart.ie