The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit voluntary organization founded in 1924 by six cardiologists. It is the largest non-governmental funder of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular research in the United States, second only to the federal government, and has invested more than $6 billion in research over its century-long history. The organization employs over 3,300 people and is backed by more than 35 million volunteers and supporters nationwide.
On the technical side, the AHA operates across several distinct domains relevant to health systems and data-driven public health:
- Research funding: Grants and investments in cardiovascular and stroke research, totalling more than $6 billion since founding
- CPR training: Programs that train approximately 22 million people annually in cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- Hypertension quality initiatives: Care improvement programmes that reach more than 19 million high blood pressure patients
- Public health advocacy and education: Evidence-based campaigns and policy work at national scale
The AHA's infrastructure spans volunteer mobilisation, fundraising, clinical quality improvement, and emergency response education. Since its founding, deaths from cardiovascular diseases in the United States have been cut in half - a trend the organisation attributes in part to its research investment and public health efforts. The AHA operates primarily in the United States while describing its broader influence as part of a global movement in cardiovascular health.
