A new initiative aimed at improving the healthcare needs of people living with heart failure is due to be launched later this month.

Heart failure is a potentially life-threatening condition which leads to the heart being unable to pump enough blood around the body. Symptoms include tiredness, shortness of breath, dizziness and swollen ankles and around 90,000 people are currently living with the condition in Ireland.

The Heart Failure Patient Alliance (HFPA) is a joint initiative of the heart failure charity, the Heartbeat Trust, and the heart and stroke charity, Croí. They plan to work together to improve the healthcare needs of people living with this condition and their carers.

The HFPA will be officially launched on April 15 in the Talbot Hotel in Stillorgan in Dublin at 1.30pm, while a second meeting will take place in the Galway Bay Hotel on April 16 at 10am. These launch meetings are open to anyone living with heart failure, as well as the families and carers of people with the condition.

Speakers will include healthcare professionals who are experts in this area, including consultant cardiologist and clinical director of the Heartbeat Trust, Prof Ken McDonald, and Dr Pat Nash, a consultant cardiologist at Galway University Hospital.

"The Heartbeat Trust is dedicated to supporting specialist clinical and research services in heart failure and heart failure prevention in Ireland. The Trust is now delighted to collaborate with Croí in the establishment of the HFPA, which aims to empower patients living with this chronic condition," commented Prof McDonald.

Meanwhile, according to Croí CEO, Neil Johnson, the HFPA will ‘unite the voices of those living with heart failure in Ireland'. He highlighted the importance of this as the prevalence of the condition is set to increase in the coming years.

"The burden of heart failure could be significantly reduced through earlier diagnosis and better access to diagnostics. The HFPA aims to advocate for greater awareness of the signs and symptoms of heart failure and better care pathways so that people living with heart failure and their carers can enjoy a better quality of life," he explained.

For more information on the Heartbeat Trust, click here
For more information on Croí, click here