World Heart Day: AstraZeneca Continues Commitment to Saving Hearts and Lives Through Survivors Have Heart

Survivors Have Heart is one of the longest standing patient programs at AstraZeneca, now in its fifth year. Today, on World Heart Day, we recognize its incredible impact on heart attack survivors throughout the United States.

We first launched the program in 2017 with the help of celebrity spokesperson Bob Harper—host of The Biggest Loser, best-selling author and heart attack survivor—at an intimate patient roundtable in New York City. Together with a small group of survivors, we started the conversation about how the emotional recovery after a heart attack can be just as difficult as the physical recovery, for both patients and their caregivers. Since Survivors Have Heart began all those years ago, we’ve expanded the network from just a handful of survivors to a nationwide community through live events in various cities across the country, engaging virtual programming, and more.

Last year, on World Heart Day, we unveiled the Survivors Have Heart Second Chance Portraits, a series of photographs (taken by Bob Harper himself!) that highlight the stories and strength of five heart attack survivors from around the country. These portraits challenge traditional perceptions of heart attack survivorship and celebrate second chances. The collection, which was displayed publicly at the Flatiron Plaza in NYC and featured in prominent media outlets, continues to make a positive impact on the community—reminding survivors and their caregivers that there is life after a heart attack. One year later, we’re proud to celebrate the collection’s anniversary and continue this journey to raise awareness, impact patients, and save hearts and lives.

Earlier this year, to further our commitment, we brought the program home to our Wilmington headquarters for powerful programming centered around heart health awareness. Bob Harper and other survivors shared their experiences and highlighted the importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) use—skills that saved the lives of many members of the Survivors Have Heart community, including Bob himself. Following this storytelling session, we were proud to provide access to American Red Cross CPR and AED training and certification to select employees, furthering our commitment to support this patient community.  The event left everyone in attendance—AstraZeneca leadership, employees, advocacy partners, and patients—feeling motivated and inspired to continue fighting for every heartbeat.

On this World Heart Day, we invite you to learn more about Survivors Have Heart and join the community at SurvivorsHaveHeart.com.