Art to raise awareness of heart disease and prevention

22 Mar 2021

Members of the hosptial’s multidisciplinary cardiac team, including cardiologists, physiotherapists and dietitians, will host a variety of informative patient and community events throughout the week.

To celebrate the start of Heart Week, renowned Western Australian artist Joanne Colely created a heart inspired painting in the hospital’s main foyer for the enjoyment of patients and visitors. 

Joanne said that she hopes her presence helped to generate awareness of the week and will raise much needed funds to assist members of the community impacted by heart disease.

All proceeds from the sale of the painting will be donated to The Heart Foundation. 

Through the sale of previous paintings of celebrities, including Daniel Ricciardo, Nic Naitanui, Nat Fyfe, Constance Hall, Ray Meager (Alf Stewart from Home and Away) and most recently Mark McGowan, Joanne has raised almost $100,000 in support of charities such as Telethon Kids, Leukemia Foundation, Team Millstar and Zero2Hero Youth Suicide Prevention.

St John of God Subiaco Hospital CEO Prof Shirley Bowen added that many people are surprised to know that heart disease is the leading single cause of death in Australia, resulting in one in four deaths.  

"It is therefore incredibly important to remind people that lifestyle choices such eating well and exercising regularly can improve their health and wellness and can often significantly reduce their risk of heart disease," she commented.

"We hope that our hospital’s Heart Week will help to promote cardiac health amongst the community and reduce incidences of heart disease, improving peoples’ quality of life.

"We’re incredibly fortunate to have an artist of Joanne’s calibre partnering with us on this initiative."

Heart disease is a broad term covering a variety of conditions that impact the heart muscle’s structure and function. Examples of heart disease include coronary heart disease, heart failure, valve disease and arrhythmias.