Picture your heart as a big zoo full of lovely animals

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​That’s what six-year-old Çinar does. Despite all the operations he’s undergone, he’s at peace with his heart. Seeing it as a zoo is his way of recognizing the fact that he is one of the more than 13,000 children in Turkey who are born each year with congenital heart disease.

More than 90% of these children will survive with early diagnosis and the right treatment, yet most people are unaware of congenital heart disorder.

Raising their awareness is important because the more people know about it, the more likely it is that we can improve their lives.

This is why our Turkish organization has collaborated with the Children Heart Health Association to work on what has become an award-winning* awareness campaign around congenital heart disease, featuring real life stories.

The Philips Foundation is supporting this important work with the donation of an ultrasound machine to the Capa Medical Faculty, Department of Pediatric Cardiology, via the Children Heart Health Foundation, so that even more children can be diagnosed and treated. 

Watch this video to find out about two of these stories – about Çinar, who tells of his heart zoo, full of exciting animals, and about 25-year-old Ibrahim, who was diagnosed with heart disease when he was only 30 days old.