Heart For Life

Cardiovascular disease remains the primary cause of death for adults in Belgium, making cardiovascular health an important public health concern.

Every year we organise Heart for Life, an awareness campaign that targets people above the age of 45. We aim to inform people about their personal cardiovascular risk and how to reduce it.

Medical students go out on the street to offer more information about cardiovascular disease and its risk factors to the general public. If someone is interested they can then get their blood pressure, BMI and cholesterol assessed. Students will then discuss their smoking behaviour, activity level and dietary habits. With this information the person's cardiovascular risk is estimated.

Afterwards students will go over possible lifestyle changes participants can consider to limit their cardiovascular risk. Lastly people are free to discuss their results in more detail with one of the designated experts present. Generally a cardiologist, tabacologist, dietician and sportscoach are present at the event. Central to the event is the principle that small adjustments can make a big difference.

Before the event, students receive an introductory course about the etiology of cardiovascular disease and how to speak to the general public about prevention. Younger students are also taught how to properly measure blood pressure and cholesterol to ensure the quality of the event for both the students and the participants.

For students this is a unique opportunity to train their communicative skills and technical abilities early on in their studies.

Vision

All people above 18 years old aim to minimise their cardiovascular risk. Cardiovascular disease is reduced to a minimum.

Mission

All people above 18 years old in Belgium are made aware of the risk factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. People can implement lifestyle changes that have a reduction of cardiovascular disease as a result.

Cities

BeMSA VUB
BeMSA ULB
BeMSA UCLouvain
BeMSA Namur
BeMSA Liège
BeMSA KULAK
BeMSA Gent
BeMSA Leuven
BeMSA Hasselt
EMSA Antwerpen

Made possible by:

Cardiologia - Ligue Cardio
Omron - Hospidex
La Roche

Spin off:

Keep up the Rhythm - Poster campaign further elaborating on Cardiovascular Health (BeMSA Gent)
Reanimate - CPR classes given by medical students for fellow students and the general public (BeMSA Leuven)
Restart A Heart - CPR classes given by medical students for fellow students and the general public (BeMSA Kulak)