1961-1973

The Way We Eat

As the public grew to rely on the AHA, we sought to provide more guidance on how to live a longer, healthier life – such as offering a trusted resource on healthy eating.

We first issued dietary guidelines in 1961. The advice was to replace saturated fats (the kind found in red meat, cheese, butter and other animal products) with unsaturated fats to better control cholesterol levels.

In 1973, we began showing people how to eat a more heart-healthy diet with the publication of our first cookbook. While many more volumes have followed, the original “American Heart Association Cookbook” has been in print ever since, having sold more than 3 million copies.

1978-2016

Healthier Hearts at an Earlier Age

From the earliest days, the AHA was focused on children: Rheumatic fever, which can cause heart damage in kids, was one of the illnesses that motivated Dr. Paul Dudley White to help found the organization. His sister had died of heart complications from the disease.

In 1978 , we enlisted kids themselves in promoting health and raising money. The Jump Rope for Heart Challenge, which evolved into the Kids Heart Challenge, was envisioned by a PE teacher from Milwaukee.

Since 2007 , we’ve teamed up with the NFL to encourage kids to get an hour of physical activity daily. And In 2013 , we helped launch Voices for Healthy Kids , which fights a modern epidemic – obesity – by supporting people who want to improve the places where children live, learn and play.

2004

2010

2013-2022

Better Health for Everyone

Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd provided a contextual backdrop for the AHA to strengthen our longstanding position that longer, healthier lives should be attainable for all people. Research shows adverse social determinants of health, access to health care in rural areas and structural racism are significant barriers to health.

In 2020, we launched the Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund — supporting evidence-based, locally led solutions to break down social and economic barriers to health equity. And in 2022, AmeriCorps provided a grant of $8.6 million for a new AHA rural health initiative, HeartCorps.

We published our “10 Commitments” to be fulfilled by 2024 to address these health disparities — with significant resources going to research, community work and education programs in disadvantaged communities, among other initiatives.

Today

2020-2024

Our Future is About Improving Yours…

Today we know the discoveries ahead will come from an intentional, sustained commitment to evidence-based, proactive study and solutions.

Some of our ongoing work will pay dividends far into the future. For example, we’re studying the role cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic health plays in overall well-being. And the Food is Medicine Initiative, which seeks to motivate health care providers to prescribe healthy food to prevent and manage chronic diseases.

These strategies highlight the comprehensive approach we are taking — from the laboratory to the grocery store and beyond — to advance health and hope for everyone. Guided by science, we know our second century of work also will include groundbreaking research and innovations that we haven’t even dreamed of yet.