FAST Heroes

FAST Heroes is an award-winning educational initiative, aimed at raising awareness of stroke symptoms and the need for speedy action. The FAST Heroes campaign leverages children’s amazing enthusiasm for learning and sharing, encouraging the spread of knowledge to the rest of their family, particularly to their grandparents. Stroke is the second leading cause of death, the third leading cause of disability and one of the main reasons that children lose their grandparents.

Stroke patients need high quality medical care as quickly as possible, so increasing awareness of the symptoms can save lives. Through this campaign, young children between the ages of 5-9 can save their grandparents’ lives.

 

The Fast Heroes campaign was developed by the Department of Education and Social Policy at the University of Macedonia, in Europe, and has been made possible from the support of the Angels Initiative through Boehringer Ingelheim.

 

The Angel’s Initiative is a unique healthcare initiative that helps hospitals around the world become ‘stroke-ready’ so that patients who have just suffered a stroke can be treated as quickly and effectively as possible. The initiative was launched in 2016 and is run by Boehringer Ingelheim in partnership with the European Stroke Organisation (ESO), the World Stroke Organisation (WSO), the Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE), and many other national stroke societies, companies and health institutions.

 

Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) is a research-driven pharmaceutical company that aims to improve the health and quality of life of humans. The focus in doing so is on diseases for which no satisfactory treatment option exists to date. The company therefore concentrates on developing innovative therapies that can extend patients’ lives.

 

The Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa (HSFSA) is the selected partner by Boehringer Ingelheim in South Africa. The HSFSA is also the financial partner for the FAST Heroes campaign in South Africa. The vision of the HSFSA to promote cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health through advocacy, influencing policy, providing information, tools, and support which will empower people to adopt healthy lifestyles and seek appropriate care early in the manifestation of the disease and assist in making healthy choices easier. Our mission is to halt the rise of premature deaths through cardiovascular disease (CVD) in South Africa and to promote the adoption of healthy lifestyles. To join the FAST Heroes Programme, please click on the picture below: