Heart Initiative
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE HEART INITIATIVE IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION CREATED IN 2009 WHOSE MISSION IS, THROUGH RESEARCH, TO INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES PARTICULARLY HEART FAILURE AND IMPROVE THE EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, THROUGH INCREASING USAGE OF PROVEN THERAPIES AND IMPROVING ADHERENCE.
- Income
- $22,362
- Spending
- $116,858
- Spent on programs
- 99%
- Reserves
- 21.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- investment income, 100%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 0
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 52 out of 100. Higher than 17% of charities in its peer group (diseases, under $250k).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 21.3 months of spending.
Debt
2 of 20It owes 80% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 423% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 75% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1599% of spending went to programs.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Weak: 25 out of 100. Higher than 7% of charities in its peer group (diseases, under $250k).
Independent board
5 of 250 of 3 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
0 of 15Reports no written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $115,707 spent. DURING 2025 THE HEART INITIATIVE HAS CONTINUED TO SUMMARIZE AND ANALYZE ASSESSING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF APPROVED, GENERIC MEDICATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF HF IN PATIENTS RECENTLY ADMITTED FOR ACUTE HEART FAILURE. THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY WERE ANALYZED, PRESENTED, AND PUBLISHED. THEY ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE TREATMENT OF HEART FAILURE, A DISEASE THAT INFLICTS APPROXIMATELY 6 MILLION AMERICANS AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. IN ADDITION, THE HEART INITIATIVE IS ACTIVELY CONTINUING TO ANALYZE AND PUBLISH DATA FROM THE COMPLETED STUDIES BOTH CONDUCTED IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. IN 2024, THE HEART INITIATIVE ALSO CONDUCTED THE CORTAHF STUDY THAT ASSESSED THE USE OF STEROIDS IN PATIENTS WITH AHF AND PUBLISHED THE MAIN RESULTS. THE STUDY EVALUATED THE SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF A 7-DAY "BURST" OF PREDNISONE IN PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED WITH ACUTE HEART FAILURE (AHF) AND HIGH INFLAMMATORY MARKERS. MISSION AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS: IN 2025, THE HEART INITIATIVE CONTINUED ITS SCIENTIFIC MISSION TO ADVANCE HEART FAILURE THERAPY WORLDWIDE THROUGH TWO PRIMARY AVENUES: 1. PUBLICATIONS AND DATA DISSEMINATION: THE INITIATIVE FOCUSED ON PUBLISHING AND SHARING DATA FROM STUDIES COMPLETED IN PRIOR YEARS, ENSURING THAT FINDINGS WERE BROADLY DISSEMINATED TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF THIS WORK AUTHORED BY CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS OF OUR RESEARCH ORGANIZATION ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN THE PUBLICATIONS LINKED BELOW: HTTPS://PUBMED.NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV/36356631/ 2. PERFORMING STUDIES TO PROMOTE BETTER HEART HEALTH GLOBALLY, THE HEART INITIATIVE HAS CONTINUED TO SPONSOR ITS LARGEST STUDY TO DATE: THE STRONG-HF STUDY WHICH IS AIMED AT BETTER IMPLEMENTING CHEAPER GENERIC THERAPIES IN PATIENTS POST DISCHARGE FROM A HOSPITAL FOR HEART FAILURE. IN 2022, THE HEART INITIATIVE SECURED ADDITIONAL SPONSORSHIP FROM ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS TO ENABLE EXPANDING THE STUDY TO UP TO 1,100 PATIENTS AND CONTINUES TO RECRUIT PATIENTS TO THE STUDY GLOBALLY IN EUROPE, SOUTH AMERICA AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. IN 2022, THE STUDY WAS COMPLETED AND ANALYZED, PRESENTED AND PUBLISHED. 3. THE HEART INITIATIVE WITH ITS PARTNERS AT ISNERM HAVE INITIATED A NEW STUDY TO EXPLORE THE EFFECTS OF STEROIDS IN AHF. THE STUDY TITLE IS "EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM PREDNISONE THERAPY ON C-REACTIVE PROTEIN CHANGE IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT PATIENTS WITH ACUTE HEART FAILURE AND ELEVATED INFLAMMATORY MARKERS". ACUTE HEART FAILURE (AHF) IS A COMMON DISCHARGE DIAGNOSIS IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT (ED), ASSOCIATED WITH 1-MONTH MORTALITY OF 6%, AND A 30% RISK RATE OF 1-MONTH REHOSPITALIZATION. CURRENT GUIDELINES RECOMMEND THE USE OF NITRATES AND LOW DOSE DIURETIC TO TREAT CONGESTION, BUT TO DATE, NO DRUG HAS EVER SHOWN ANY IMPROVED CLINICAL OUTCOME WHEN GIVEN AT THE ACUTE PHASE. SEVERAL STUDIES SUGGEST THAT THERE IS A HIGH INFLAMMATORY COMPONENT IN AHF, WITH ELEVATED MARKERS SUCH AS IL6 AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP). AS IT IS THE CASE IN OTHER ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISEASE, A SHORT COURSE OF STEROID THERAPY MAY LIMIT THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE AND IN TURN, IMPROVE AHF PROGNOSIS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY IS TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF A 7-DAY COURSE OF STEROID INTRODUCED IN THE ED ON INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE. THE STUDY IS A PARALLEL-GROUP, RANDOMIZED, OPEN-LABEL, CONTROLLED TRIAL IN 5 EDS IN FRANCE. PATIENTS WITH AHF AND HIGH CRP LEVELS WILL BE RANDOMIZED TO 7 DAYS OF PREDNISONE THERAPY OR CONTROL AND FOLLOWED FOR 30 DAYS. ENDPOINTS INCLUDE CHANGE IN CRP LEVELS AND RISK OF WORSENING HF, HF READMISSION OR DEATH TO DAY 30. 4. THE HEART INITIATIVE AND ITS PARTNERS IN MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL IN NYC HAVE INITIATED A STUDY TO ASSESS WAYS TO IMPROVE ADHERENCE IN PATIENTS WITH HTN AND HYPERLIPIDEMIA. THE STUDY ENTITLED: "CP&R - CARDIOVASCULAR PRECISION MEDICINE & REMOTE INTERVENTION". CONTROL OF HYPERTENSION AND HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA IS KEY TO REDUCING RISK OF ADVERSE CARDIOVASCULAR OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR MORBIDITY. NON-ADHERENCE TO MEDICAL RECOMMENDATIONS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON FOR ADVERSE OUTCOMES, AS BLOOD PRESSURE REMAINS ERRATIC IF MEDICATION-TAKING IS ALSO ERRATIC. NON-ADHERENCE CAN BE IDENTIFIED BY MULTIPLE SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE METHODS, BUT SUBJECTIVE METHODS (PATIENTS' OWN REPORTS) ARE NOT RELIABLE, AND OBJECTIVE METHODS MAY BE MISLEADING (IF THEY ARE DEPENDENT ON FACTORS OTHER THAN ADHERENCE), OR CUMBERSOME. FOR EXAMPLE, ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF ADHERENCE TENDS TO REQUIRE THE USE OF A SPECIFIC DEVICE, AND THE MOST NON-ADHERENT PATIENTS TEND NOT TO BE ABLE TO CONSISTENTLY USE THE DEVICE, RESULTING IN STUDY DESIGNS THAT FAVOR ADHERENT PATIENTS (IN STUDIES THAT PURPORT TO IMPROVE ADHERENCE). THE PRESENT STUDY USES A NOVEL INDICATOR FOR NON-ADHERENCE BASED ON ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD (EHR) DATA: THE DEGREE OF VARIABILITY OF BLOOD PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS OVER TIME. RISK STRATIFICATION BY A VARIABILITY MARKER WILL BE COUPLED WITH REMOTE INTERVENTION OFFERED ONLY TO PATIENTS WHO ARE AT INCREASED RISK. THE INTERVENTION WILL BE TARGETED AT THE POSSIBLE ROOT CAUSES OF THESE PATIENTS' NON-ADHERENCE. THE INNOVATIONS IN OUR APPROACH ARE THE USE OF A MARKER DERIVED FROM EHR INFORMATION TO TARGET THE INTERVENTION (RESULTING IN BETTER RESOURCE ALLOCATION), THE REMOTE INTERVENTION THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE IN-PERSON MEETINGS WHICH MAY BE HARD TO IMPLEMENT ESPECIALLY WITH PATIENTS WHO ARE NON-ADHERENT TO THEIR MEDICAL RECOMMENDATIONS ANYWAY, AND THE FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTABLE INTERVENTION THAT IS CUSTOMIZED FOR EACH PATIENT. 5. THE HEART INITIATIVE INITIATED A NEW STUDY, ROBUST HF, WHICH WILL HELP IMPLEMENT THE RESULTS OF STRONG HF GLOBALLY. THE STUDY WAS THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE HEART INITIATIVE IN 2024.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Worth knowing.
Status was revoked on May 15, 2012 for not filing returns for three years, and reinstated on April 15, 2016.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since May 2016.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.