Celebrating a decade of the HFA young community: Achievements and future directions by the HFA Young Committee

Abstract

The Heart Failure Association (HFA) Young initiative, established in 2014, welcomes all HFA members under 40 years of age, including physicians, scientists, nurses and allied health professionals. Its primary aim is to foster the growth of the next generation of heart failure (HF) specialists through a variety of educational and career-building programmes such as the monthly HFA Cardiotalk Podcast, the quarterly HFA Journal Club and the Career Café. The members also have the possibility to participate in the construction of the annual HFA congress programme and benefit from travel grants for the HFA Congress, and networking events at scientific meetings. In 2022–2023, the HFA Young conducted a survey that garnered 305 members, giving an important snapshot of their needs, expectations and aspirations, which served as a roadmap for the priorities of the group. Finally, in order to build and maintain networks of young professionals at the national level, the HFA Young Ambassadors initiative was established, connecting the HFA Young Committee with young HF professionals in their respective countries. This initiative has proven to be crucial for building a global community of emerging HF specialists and enhancing the awareness of the HFA's activities. The article presents the evolution of HFA Young over the past 10 years, summarizes key activities and survey results and seeks to outline future development directions.