World Heart Federation honors American Heart Association CEO for lifetime of impact

American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown to receive honor August 29 in Madrid as part of the European Society of Cardiology annual conference

2025-08-26

(Press-News.org) DALLAS and MADRID, August 26, 2025 — The World Heart Federation (WHF) is set to honor Nancy Brown, chief executive officer of the American Heart Association, with its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award on Friday, August 29, at the opening ceremony of the European Society of Cardiology Congress together with the World Congress of Cardiology in Madrid. The award is bestowed in recognition of her extraordinary leadership and lifelong commitment to transforming cardiovascular health on a global scale.

The World Heart Federation is a leader and convener in global cardiovascular health. The members of WHF consist of more than 200 heart foundations, scientific societies and patient organizations spanning more than 100 countries. The American Heart Association is a founding member of the World Heart Federation.

Brown has served as CEO of the Heart Association, a global force changing the future of health for everyone, everywhere, since 2008. Under her leadership, the organization has advanced lifesaving science, innovation and advocacy across more than 100 countries through groundbreaking quality improvement initiatives, scientific collaboration and community-based interventions. Brown started with the organization in 1986 and served in many leadership roles before her tenure as CEO, including chief operating officer.

“It’s a tremendous honor to receive this recognition from the World Heart Federation,” said Brown. “These accolades reflect the dedication of our volunteers, supporters and staff around the world who power the American Heart Association’s mission every day. I’m grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the advancements and impact we’ve made to improve cardiovascular health and transform lives.”

The World Heart Federation cited Brown’s “visionary leadership, global partnerships and unwavering commitment to improving the future of health” as transformative in the fight against cardiovascular disease—the world’s leading cause of death.

“Nancy is a leader known around the world for her courage to face even the most dynamic challenges in health care through a combination of evidence, compassion and a focus on impact,” said Jagat Narula, M.D., Ph.D., president of the World Heart Federation. “Nancy embodies the organization’s mission to be a relentless force for longer, healthier lives and personally shows that she believes everyone, everywhere deserves access to quality health care.”

Among her many accomplishments:

Launched global quality improvement programs from a concept in the late 1990s to the robust Get With The Guidelines and American Heart Association certification program in the United States, Mexico, Latin America, India and part of Asia. These programs help to measure and ensure consistent, evidence-based care in time-sensitive medical situations like heart attack, stroke and cardiac arrest. Accelerated research and innovation, including the Go Red for Women Venture Fund®, investing $75 million in companies that address gaps in women’s heart and brain health. Overall, the Heart Association has invested $6.1 billion in research since 1949. Mobilized lifesaving campaigns, including the Association’s CPR education effort known as the Nation of Lifesavers™, which aims to double survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest by 2030. The Heart Association trains approximately 22 million people annually in CPR and develops first aid and resuscitation guidelines that are used globally. Additional Resources:

AHA news release: TIME names Nancy Brown to list of the most influential people in global health Follow AHA/ASA news on X @HeartNews ###

About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than one hundred years. Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public’s health, and provide critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. By driving breakthroughs and implementing proven solutions in science, policy, and care, we work tirelessly to advance health and transform lives every day. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

About the European Society of Cardiology

The ESC brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people to live longer, healthier lives.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

SwRI scientist leads science team contributions to a new NASA heliophysics AI foundation model

2025-08-26

SAN ANTONIO — August 26, 2025 — NASA has launched Surya, its new heliophysics artificial intelligence foundation model to empower solar scientists with tools to enhance research and space weather forecasting. Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Andrés Muñoz-Jaramillo led a team of scientists from several institutions and universities who played a crucial role in tailoring the scientific data and validating a powerful application to predict solar activity such as coronal mass ejections ...

Could routine eye exams reveal early signs of Alzheimer’s?

2025-08-26

Within the next few years, doctors may be able to spot signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias using routine eye exams well before symptoms appear, a new study suggests. The research, recently published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, links abnormal changes in the tiny blood vessels of the retinas of mice with a common genetic mutation known to increase Alzheimer’s disease risk. The findings build on previous work from the same group at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), which found similar vascular changes in mice’s brains and linked abnormalities in specific retinal cells to early ...

Parental liver disease death more than doubles risk of alcohol-associated hepatitis in next generation

2025-08-26

INDIANAPOLIS -- In a groundbreaking study, research scientists from the Indiana University School of Medicine and Regenstrief Institute found that individuals with a parent who died from liver disease face more than double the risk of developing alcohol-associated hepatitis, one of the deadliest forms of alcohol-related liver disease, compared with similar heavy drinkers without that family history. Researchers investigated the impact of parental liver disease mortality on both the development and outcomes of alcohol-associated hepatitis in adult children. In the U.S., nearly 20,000 people die from alcoholic liver disease each year, according to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug ...

Shared gene signatures and key mechanisms in the progression from liver cirrhosis to acute-on-chronic liver failure

2025-08-26

Background and objectives Chronic liver cirrhosis (LC) and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) are interconnected hepatic disorders associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Despite their distinct clinical characteristics, both conditions share common pathogenic pathways that remain inadequately understood. This study aimed to identify shared gene signatures and elucidate underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods In this study, we employed Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis to explore transcriptomic ...

Rural Health Care Outcomes Accelerator extended to 2028

2025-08-26

DALLAS, August 26, 2025 — Research shows that rural Americans are at 30% higher risk of stroke, are 40% more likely to develop heart disease and live an average of three years fewer than their urban counterparts.[1] The American Heart Association, devoted to changing the future to a world of healthier lives for all, is committed to closing the gap between rural and urban health outcomes. To continue improving cardiovascular care in rural communities, the Association announced today the three-year funding extension of its Rural Health Care Outcomes Accelerator through June 2028. Since its launch in ...

Feeling good about yourself

2025-08-26

Emotions are complicated things. Researchers have found some differences between men and women, but basically the same factors play the biggest part in whether we feel good about ourselves. “We investigated differences between the sexes and the relationships between factors that influence participants’ motivation and well-being,” said Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU’s) Department of Psychology. He has spent many years studying what it takes for people to achieve their goals, and in this ...

People with schizophrenia have higher risk of COPD

2025-08-26

Miami (August 26, 2025) – People with schizophrenia are more likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), suggesting a possible syndemic relationship between the two diseases, in addition to people not seeking appropriate medical care. A new article examining the link between COPD and schizophrenia appears in the July 2025 issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, a peer-reviewed, open access journal. COPD encompasses conditions including emphysema and ...

Sibling-specific aggression in women and girls

2025-08-26

Human men are typically more aggressive than human women, a finding supported by reams of research. But surveys of 4,136 individuals in 24 countries reveal an exception to the trend: aggression in sibling relationships. Douglas T. Kenrick and Michael E.W. Warnum, along with a team of 49 colleagues, asked participants how often they had acted aggressively towards a sister, a brother, a female friend, a male friend, a female acquaintance, or a male acquaintance—both when they were children and when they were adults. Aggressive actions included both direct aggression, such as hitting/slapping ...

Study raises red flags about BPA replacements

2025-08-26

Chemicals used to replace bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging can trigger potentially harmful effects in human ovarian cells, according to McGill University researchers. A new study examined several chemicals commonly used in price stickers on packaged meat, fish, cheese and produce found early signs of potential toxicity. The findings, published in the journal Toxicological Sciences, raise concerns about the safety of BPA-free packaging and whether current regulations go far enough to protect consumers. BPA substitutes disrupt gene expression The research began with the 2023 discovery by Stéphane Bayen, Associate Professor in McGill’s ...

The irresistibility of extrapolating from past performance

2025-08-26

Researchers explore the human tendency to look to the past to predict the future—even when people rationally know outcomes are completely random. A fair coin flip is the prototypically random-outcome event. Russell Roberts and colleagues asked 12,000 people to predict coin flip outcomes in a sequence of five fair coin tosses—some in person, some online. With such a large number of participants, they were able to analyze subsets of people who—by chance—made a series of successful or unsuccessful guesses without any deception or manipulation of the ...

World Heart Federation honors American Heart Association CEO for lifetime of impact

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: