NIH Director Talks about Obesity on the Colbert Report
May 15, 2012 by adminNIH Director Dr. Francis Collins brought a serious message recently on the Comedy Central’s Colbert Report a few days ago. Dr. Francis talked about the importance of eating well and the state of America’s obesity epidemic.
Have a few laughs and check out the video below.
Sen. Mark Kirk’s Recovery “Excellent” After Stroke
May 9, 2012 by adminOn January 21st, Senator Mark Kirk from Illinois had a stroke at the age of 52. Only 15 weeks later, his recovery has been described as “excellent” by his doctor in an article in the Chicago Tribune. Sen. Kirk’s ongoing recovery shows how important medical research is to stroke recovery.
Sen. Kirk also penned a letter-to-the- editor describing his stroke and recovery.
“Early detection is key to survival,” said Kirk. “My staff and I are working on a legislative package to help with early detection and prevention programs.”
Check out his amazing video below, go the full story , and read Sen. Kirk’s letter in the Chicago Tribune.
State Spotlight! WV “Heart Moms” Make Life-Saving Law a Reality
May 7, 2012 by admin
A recent legislative victory in West Virginia showed once again that passionate, dedicated advocates can make a difference. On April 5th, 2012, advocate Ruth Caruthers and her fellow “Heart Moms” stood with Governor Earl Ray Tomblin in the State Capitol, as he signed “Corbin’s Law” into effect. This life-saving legislation, named after Ruth’s son who passed away from a heart defect shortly after birth, makes pulse oximetry (pulse ox) testing a mandatory requirement for all babies born in West Virginia. Pulse ox is a simple, inexpensive, painless bedside test which can help detect a critical congenital heart defect before a baby is released from the hospital.
“My son inspired me to become an advocate,” said Ruth. “After fighting against heart defects his whole life and showing how incredibly strong and brave he could be, I knew I had to continue his legacy after his death. I had to make a difference in his name to help other mothers and babies.”
Ruth was joined in her mission by fellow parents of children born with congenital heart defects. These “Heart Moms” and dads began networking in any way they could to build support for the bill. Whether it was sharing information and connecting on social media, recruiting new advocates to You’re the Cure, educating expecting parents about pulse ox, doing media interviews, or calling local hospitals, Ruth and the other “Heart Moms” worked tirelessly to get the word out. And it paid off in March when the state legislature passed the bill, followed by the Governor’s signature.
“Being able to watch the Governor sign Corbin’s Bill just made it so real to me. Corbin was in that room that day, shining down and smiling over all of us. It was a day full of happiness and hope. I could not have been happier or more proud of Corbin then at that moment,” Ruth shared.
Her advice to other advocates? “Use social media to your advantage! You must be able to reach people and that is the best way to do it. You need to network, network, network.”
Congratulations to all of the West Virginia advocates who worked so hard to pass this life-saving bill!
For more information, visit the WV Pulse Ox Facebook and Twitter feeds.
CPR in Schools Victory in Minnesota!
May 4, 2012 by admin
On April 23, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed a law that will ensure that everyone who graduates from high school will be trained in hands-only CPR. With this bill, Minnesota students between grades 7 and 12 will receive hands-only CPR training at least once before they graduate. The training can occur in as little as 30 minutes and local volunteer fire fighters and EMTs can assist with the training. The bill will be implemented for the 2014-15 school year.
“This bill will train an entire generation to be life-savers,” said Justin Bell, government relations director for the American Heart Association.
Congratulations to everyone in Minnesota.
Is your state CPR Smart? Take the pledge and find out today!
Statement from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on National High Blood Pressure Education Month
May 3, 2012 by admin
May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month and Stroke Awareness Month. It makes sense to observe both in the same month because when you control your blood pressure, you reduce your risk of stroke —the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Unfortunately, 1 in 3 U.S. adults—an estimated 68 million of us—have high blood pressure, also called hypertension. This “silent killer” can damage the heart, brain, and kidneys without a single symptom.
Right now, half of those Americans with high blood pressure still don’t have it adequately controlled. African Americans are at particular risk—often having more severe hypertension, and developing it at younger ages.
Each year, more than 795,000 Americans have a stroke and more than 130,000 people in the United States die every year after a stroke—an average of one stroke-related death every 4 minutes.
Together, the financial costs of high blood pressure and stroke are staggering: annual costs of hypertension are $156 billion, with medical costs accounting for nearly $131 billion and lost productivity from illness and premature death of about $25 billion a year. Annual stroke costs to the nation are more than a billion dollars a week.
Fortunately, there are some things in life you can control—and blood pressure is one.
Helping Americans with high blood pressure get it under control to reduce strokes and other forms of cardiovascular disease is a high priority for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and through our national Million Hearts initiative, we are making a difference. Co-led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services—and in collaboration with many other government and private partners—we aim to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017.
Million Hearts is working to reduce high blood pressure with a one-two punch; the first, focusing health care professionals, health systems, insurers, employers, and individuals on the link between good blood pressure control and good health and, the second, encouraging all Americans to know their blood pressure, monitor it regularly, and talk with their doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or community health worker about how to keep it in the normal range. From diet and physical activity to medications, there are easy, effective and economical ways to measure, routinely monitor, and control blood pressure.
Million Hearts is supported by the many improvements to health care provided by the health care law, the Affordable Care Act, which now strengthens the prevention of stroke by ensuring that many adult patients receive preventive services, including blood pressure screenings, at no cost.
Transportation Secretary Promotes Safe Routes to School
May 1, 2012 by admin
On Friday, April 27th, the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood walked to school with his grandchildren. Why is this news? Because Secretary LaHood was also joined by other community members and children promoting the Safe Routes to School program in Indiana.
“We know that, when kids walk or bike to school, they get energized for their school day and they bring neighborhoods together”, said LaHood.
Indianapolis Mayor, Greg Ballard, and Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner, Mike Cline, joined LaHood in this walk to bring awareness to Safe Routes to School, according to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation blog.
“Safe Routes programs are efforts by parents, schools, community leaders, and local, state, and federal governments to improve the health and well-being of children by enabling and encouraging them to walk and bicycle to school,” said LaHood.
The American Heart Association is also committed to the Safe Routes to School Program. In early March, over a dozen AHA volunteers took to Capitol Hill to urge their lawmakers to protect the program.
51 Co-sponsors for the HEART for Women Act. Can we get to 100?
Apr 27, 2012 by admin
Check out the list of current co-sponsors of the HEART for Women Act. These Members of Congress have taken an important step in demonstrating their support for improving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart disease and stroke in women.
Have your legislators joined the fight against our nation’s No. 1 killer of women yet?
Current Co-sponsors:
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR-04)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA-23)
Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA-43)
Rep. Janice Hahn (D-CA-36)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-09)
Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA-37)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA-39)
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA-12)
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-35)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA-06)
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT-04)
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-AL)
Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL-03)
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-20)
Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA-03)
Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL-13)
Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL-02)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09)
Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN-06)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD-07)
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)
Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA-07)
Rep. James McGovern (D-MA-03)
Rep. John Olver (D-MA-01)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-MI-13)
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-04)
Rep. William Clay (R-MO-01)
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Rep. Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY-05)
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY-17)
Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY-27)
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY-02)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY-14)
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY-28)
Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC)
Rep. David Price (D-NC-04)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09)
Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA-06)
Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA-19)
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX-20)
Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX-16)
Rep. James Moran (D-VA-08)
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-05)
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI-04)
CPR in Schools Victory in Tennessee!
Apr 25, 2012 by admin
Aimed to prepare more Tennesseans to respond in emergency instances of sudden cardiac arrest, the American Heart Association urged the Tennessee General Assembly to add hands-on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training to the high school lifetime wellness school curriculum that already existed in the state.
After the hard work of staff and AHA volunteers, they succeeded! On April 18th Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed the “Carmen Burnette Act of 2012” into law. It was named after Ms. Carmen Burnette who recently passed away and was an EMT from Cookeville who played a pivotal role in a very successful CPR in Schools program in Putnam County, TN.
Congratulations to everyone in Tennessee!
Does your state require CPR as a graduation requirement? Find out today!
Thank Your Mom and Macy’s Will Donate to the AHA!
Apr 24, 2012 by adminMother’s Day is fast approaching, and everyone is trying to find unique ways to say how much they appreciate their Mom. In addition to the cards, flowers, and dinners, Macy’s has come up with another to say thanks.
Simply go the Macy’s Magical Moments Facebook Page and send Mom an e-card telling her how much you love her. For every card you send, Macy’s will donate $3 to American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign. Simply select it among the list of worthy charities. You can send up to 15 cards and Macy’s will donate $3 for each one!
Thank Mom by having Macy’s donate to this worthy cause today!
Your Story Could Save Lives
Apr 12, 2012 by adminAt the American Heart Association, one of our key priorities is to help protect and support the life-saving heart and stroke research done at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We share statistics and facts about the people who are impacted – and the lives that are saved – through medical research.
But as a You’re the Cure advocate, you know that medical research is about more than just numbers. It’s about the lives forever impacted by research. Whether you are a survivor who is alive today because of a procedure, device, or medication discovered through research, or a researcher on the front lines of discovering innovate ways to treat and prevent these costly diseases, your story can make a real difference as Congress considers cuts to NIH funding.
This summer, we’re planning to knock on the office doors of our elected officials – in Washington, D.C., and at home – to deliver personalized You’re the Cure scrapbooks that show just how crucial support for medical research is. But first we need to pack the scrapbooks with stories of the real people who can help bring the facts to life– stories like yours.
Your story can be a powerful tool in influencing elected officials as they make critical decisions about medical research funding. Take a moment to share it today.
