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Sign a petition to alert health organizations to the devastating strokes caused by an irregular heart rhythm Ingelheim, Germany, 28 September 2012 – To mark World Heart Day tomorrow (29.09.12), the awareness initiative “1 Mission 1 Million – Getting to the Heart of Stroke ” is calling on millions of people to join together and raise awareness of the irregular heart rhythm atrial fibrillation by signing a global petition: www.heartofstroke.com/Petition. Since many people are not aware of the increased risk of stroke associated with atrial fibrillation, more needs to be done to raise awareness of this serious condition and ensure it is appropriately managed. The 1 Mission 1 Million initiative asks anyone affected or concerned by heart diseases and rhythm disorders to sign the petition, which will be submitted to the world’s health organizations to ensure that atrial fibrillation is acknowledged as a serious condition and a risk factor for stroke. This acknowledgment by health organizations will include improved diagnosis and management of atrial fibrillation and therefore, better stroke prevention. Within families and among friends, most people will be able to identify someone, even a close relative, who has atrial fibrillation. People with atrial fibrillation are five times more likely to suffer a stroke and atrial fibrillation-related strokes are more severe and are associated with more disability than non atrial fibrillation-related strokes.1-3,4 The 1 Mission 1 Million petition, which has been developed in collaboration with the World Heart Federation, calls for action to be taken now to protect people from the devastating consequences of stroke. “One person every 10 seconds has an atrial fibrillation-related stroke and this accounts for three million people worldwide every year. Many of these strokes can be prevented so the World Heart Federation encourages everybody to join the mission and sign the petition to help save lives. ” said Dr Kathryn Taubert, Chief Science Officer for the World Hear