The 5th Anniversary Flagship Event gave the Alliance for Aging Research a chance to look back on the last five years, and to thank the many organizations, partners, and advocates that have helped make Valve Disease Day happen and reach hundreds of millions of people. Honorees included a heart valve patient and visionary, a leading cardiologist and champion of health equity, a dedicated partner, and an innovative provider.

Additionally, a Facebook Live event featured Dr. Gary Gibbons, Director of the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, and Dr. Frank Evans, Program Director in NHLBI’s Heart Development and Structural Diseases Branch. An “expo hall” featured the Valve Disease Day resources of partner organizations. A celebration video featured highlights from the past five years. 

Many of this year’s events were virtual due to the pandemic, but there was a wide variety of educational events for constituents to learn about Valve Disease Day including:

• Flagship event that was a virtual celebration of the partners, advocates, and patients who make Valve Disease Day a success. Awards were presented to leaders in the field, an expo hall featured partner resources, and a celebration video shared highlights from the past 5 years. See more in the Virtual Celebration section above.

• Virtual educational symposium hosted by Rock from the Heart in Minneapolis that had 187 attendees and marketing that reached 1.6 million on-line, >23,000 on TV, and >27,000 on Twitter.

• Educational table in the AdventHealth lobby where heart shaped sunglasses and educational materials were distributed.

• Webinar hosted by the Association of Physician Assistants in Cardiology featuring experts speaking about the latest cardiology guidelines and valve disease updates.

• Joint event between Baton Rouge General and HeartSense offering heart murmur screening and informational booth.

• Podcast from Cleveland Clinic’s Love Your Heart series, answering questions about valve disease symptoms, diagnostic tests, and treatment.

• Grand Round series and Cardiac Stay in Care Initiative from Emory Healthcare. 

• Facebook live interview with experts from Florida Heart & Lung Institute.

• Facebook live event with experts from MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute.

• Free seminar called Does Your Heart Skip a Beat from MemorialCare.

• Facebook live chat with Mended Hearts expert.

• Live Virtual Celebration watch party hosted by Mended Hearts.

• Virtual educational event hosted by Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.

• International expert panel hosted by PASCaTS SPACCaT.

• Podcast from UAB Medicine’s MyHeartNet.

On Valve Disease Day (VDD) and throughout American Heart Month, people and organizations shared selfies, personal stores, educational resources, and more.

• Facebook VDD posts produced >400,000 impressions, >121,000 video views, and >25,000 engagements.

• Twitter VDD posts produced >21,000,000 impressions and >1,300 engagements.

• Instagram VDD posts produced >10,000 impressions and 775 engagements.

• Social media challenge asked valve disease patients to share their stories for the chance to be featured in a USA Today advertisement on Valve Disease Day.

• Twitter chat co-hosted with the Association of Black Cardiologists and BlackDoctor.org shared resources on health disparities and the undertreatment of valve disease. There were 1,752 Tweets from 425 contributors, for a potential impact of >13,000,000.

An op-ed written by Sue Peschin, President and CEO of the Alliance, and Dr. John Whyte, Chief Medical Officer of WebMd, was published in Morning Consult with 300,000 subscribers. Additionally, letters to the editor were placed in 13 outlets, with a combined estimated daily reach of 530,722.

A national press release was shared on the national wire and was picked up by more than 200 outlets, including the Associated Press and Market Watch. The press release had a total potential audience of more than 210,000,000, was viewed 4,052 times, and produced 795 engagements.

A social media challenge on Facebook, asked Valve Disease Day followers to share their valve disease stories for a chance to be featured in a USA Today advertisement.

Christine R., a fierce valve disease advocate was our winner, and she sported the Valve Disease Day sunglasses in the advertisement on February 22nd.

A Radio Media Tour offered the opportunity to share the messages of the campaign through 14 interviews with statewide networks in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia; and with National NBC News. There were a total of 1,879 airings to total listeners of 11,515,640.

John Lewis, Executive Director of Heart Valve Voice US (HVV), was featured in the Alliance for Aging Research podcast This is Growing Old. John spoke about Valve Disease Day, the HVV Just Go Campaign, and other awareness raising efforts.

Lindsay Clarke, Vice President of Health Education & Advocacy at the Alliance, did a podcast interview with Adriaen Berg for her Generation Bold podcast. Lindsay spoke about the campaign, Valve Disease Day, heart health, COVID-19, healthspan, and more. 

In 2021, there were 93 national and international partners committed to Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day (Valve Disease Day). We are grateful for these committed advocacy groups, aging organizations, professional societies, hospitals and heart centers, minority health groups, and other organizations who found unique ways to raise awareness during a global pandemic.