International cooperation in world cardiology: the role of the World Heart Federation.

The World Heart Federation is the new name of the International Society and Federation of Cardiology (ISFC), as approved by the General Assembly which met during the World Congress of Cardiology in Rio de Janeiro in April 1998. The organization was formed in 1978 by a merger of the International Society of Cardiology (a professional organization founded in 1946, with a worldwide membership of national societies of cardiology) and the International Cardiology Federation (an association of heart foundations set up in 1970 to promote fundraising for research, professional and public education and community programmes). The new World Heart Federation therefore has more than 50 years’ experience of fighting heart disease throughout the world. At present, it brings together national societies of cardiology and/or heart foundations from 81 countries, as well as ‘continental’ members covering the Asia–Pacific region, Europe, the Americas and Africa. In recent years, the World Heart Federation has worked in two ways: (1) through its scientific councils, which are engaged in many projects, some of them with the World Health Organization (WHO); (2) through its heart foundations, now grouped in continental associations, which are very active in public education relating to all aspects of heart health. The fight against tobacco use is one important aim of our organization. Very recently, the World Heart Federation has taken a firm position against any settlement proposed by the United States of America, which does not give equal treatment to citizens of the U.S.A. and citizens of other countries. Heart foundations provide a way for laypeople — many of them affected directly or indirectly by heart disease and stroke — to contribute to the fight against cardiovascular diseases, mainly by