National Heart Foundation of Australia



The National Heart Foundation of Australia (NHF) or Heart Foundation is a non-profit organization with the stated mission "to improve the cardiac health of Australians". It was formed in 1959 by a group of cardiac physicians.

The NHF is a charity funded almost entirely by public donations and bequests, for example, it raised over $4 million in a door-knock appeal last year. This money is then used to provide grants to researchers and funds public education programs. One of the most well known programs is Jump Rope for Heart, which is run annually in schools.

Since its formation in 1959 it has provided the equivalent of $138 million (in year 2000 dollar terms) to support the best quality, peer reviewed research, in parallel with the National Health and Medical Research Council.

A major contributor to the development of the National Heart Foundation was Dr. Ralph Reader, its National Director for 20 years.

In 2007, the Heart Foundation controversially approved nine meals from the McDonald's chain of restaurants.

The Red Tick
When the NHF recommends a food product as heart friendly, it authorises the manufacturer to display a red tick. This tick was granted to nine meals of fast-food chain McDonald's for A$330,000 on 5 February 2007, causing some controversy.