Valve Disease Day 2022!
Revolutionizing Peer Support for Patients!
This year, for Valve Disease Day, we will hosting a webinar!
Mended Hearts® has been supporting patients for 71 years, but has revolutionized the way they support valve disease patients over the past two years. Join us to learn WHY peer support is so vital and how lives are being changed by hearing “You are not alone”.
Andrea Baer, MS, BCPA, Executive Director of The Mended Hearts, Inc., will be joined by Mended Hearts Peer Supporters to talk about how you can GIVE and GET Support!
February 22, 2022
3:00-4:00 PM ET
Re-Watch the Webinar HERE:
Take the Pledge Today!
Show your friends, family, and followers that you support Valve Disease Day by taking the pledge! Sign the pledge form and then let folks on social media know that you’ve taken action. This is great way for the patients, champions, clinicians, and other advocates in your networks to show their support and drum up excitement for the big day on February 22nd.
It’s easy to use the handy graphics, prepared social media posts, and fun Instagram and Facebook filters which you can find here. Be sure to use #ValveDiseaseDay in your posts and encourage others to do the same!
Lack of Awareness
A recent survey of more than 2,000 adults in the U.S. found that while over half have heard of heart valve disease (HVD), less than one in four know somewhat or a great deal about HVD. Although awareness increases with age, 30 percent of respondents over the age of 65 say they know nothing about HVD.
An in-depth analysis of more than 400 individuals diagnosed with HVD found that more than two-thirds knew a limited amount or nothing about HVD prior to their diagnosis. And 6 in 10 of the surveyed HVD patients were diagnosed only because they went to see a health care professional for a regular check-up or some other issue.
The seriousness of HVD, combined with the fact that disease symptoms are often difficult to detect or dismissed as a normal part of aging, makes this lack of awareness dangerous.
As many as 11 million Americans have heart valve disease (HVD) which involves damage to one or more of the heart’s valves. While some types are not serious, others can lead to major complications—including death.
Most HVD involves a damaged valve that disrupts blood flow by not opening or closing properly. Regurgitation is when a valve does not fully close and allows blood to leak backwards. It is also commonly called insufficiency, or a leaky valve. Stenosis is when a valve does not fully open to allow enough blood to flow through. It is also commonly called a sticky, narrowed, or stiff valve. Each of the four valves can have regurgitation or stenosis (sometimes both), although the aortic and mitral valves are most likely to be damaged.
Join us for Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day on February 22, 2021 and join the campaign! Mended Hearts is a proud partner of the Alliance for Aging and their efforts to raise awareness.
Find out more about the campaign HERE