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in the spotlight |
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Saving lives and helping people thrive since 1924 |
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For nearly a century, the American Heart Association has been fighting heart disease and stroke and helping people live longer, healthier lives. Explore the interactive map below and see how your support has made a difference nationwide, including the places you and your loved ones call home. |
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Volunteer Dennis Yanowski displays an AHA-customized fishing rod he created. |
Volunteer Dennis Yanowski displays an AHA-customized fishing rod he created. |
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Volunteer casts hope for the heart with custom fishing rods |
As he eyes retirement in a few years, Marek Brothers employee Dennis Yanowski looks forward to leisure days on the Texas coast enjoying his favorite pastime — fishing. Meanwhile, he’s channeling that passion to raise funds for the American Heart Association by creating custom fishing rods for auction at the San Antonio Heart Walk. Each 7-foot rod is red and white and inscribed with “Heart Walk 2020 & 2021” and “Hooked on Health.”
“I’m donating two and hope to continue this annually,” said Yanowski, a member of the AHA San Antonio Division executive leadership team. “It takes eight to 12 hours to build a nice rod, time well spent for me. My hope is that they are used to benefit the AHA, and to provide some recreational pleasure to the new owner.”
This deeply personal gift is the latest in his seven-year history of service to the AHA, which includes Marek annually sponsoring Heart Walk and building the Texas market’s AHA Tribute Wall — a traveling memorial that has become a centerpiece at fundraisers.
“The AHA mission to promote heart health complements our priority to ensure the health, well-being and safety of our co-workers,” said Yanowski, who has been with Marek for 44 years and serves as Past President/Special Projects.
His interest in heart health took root 15 years ago, when a colleague and friend collapsed from cardiac arrest in the lobby. With his office just steps away, Yanowski heard the impact of her fall. He and another CPR-trained staffer sprang into action, keeping her heart pumping until emergency medical service arrived. Now healthy, happy and retired, the woman returns to Marek each year on the anniversary of the event to deliver flowers and say, “thank you.”
“This made me a believer and advocate for CPR training,” he said. It also inspired his support of the AHA.
Once he retires from Marek, he said, “the players will change but the AHA partnership will continue.”
His commitment intensified as he witnessed our organization navigate the treacherous waters of the COVID-19 pandemic and cast a clear vision to save lives.
“What a great group of professionals,” he said. “It’s easy to support this team and this cause.”
On behalf of the entire AHA family, thank you, Dennis Yanowski, for making an extraordinary impact. |
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New federal dietary guidelines sidestep science on sugar intake |
“Make every bite count.” That’s the refrain of the 2020-25 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), which the federal government updates every five years and released on Tuesday. This year’s iteration includes first-time guidance for pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants and toddlers, underscoring the importance of maternal health and proper nutrition across the lifespan. Yet, the DGA falls short when it comes to added sugar consumption.
During an NBC TODAY show interview, American Heart Association president, Dr. Mitchell Elkind said, "It's important to be as aggressive as possible in recommending lower sugar intake."
Added sugars is a term to identify foods that are sweetened during production, such as refined fruit juices and corn syrup, among other products. Though they add calories, they are low in nutritional value and contribute to weight gain and diabetes. That’s why the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee called for added sugars to account for less than 6% of total calories per day.
Although the U.S Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not accept all the committee’s recommendations, these guidelines are just a first step. Policy and environmental changes are needed to ensure consumers can easily access healthier food. Read more |
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Engaging communities of color in clinical trials |
Though humans are 99.9 percent similar at the molecular level, subtle genetic differences affect how medication is metabolized in people of different races. Recruiting Black, Hispanic, Asian and Indigenous people in clinical trials is vital to developing targeted therapies for COVID-19 and more.
But a history of clinical abuses has bred mistrust in communities of color, resulting in comparatively low participation in clinical trials, according to Dr. Jayne Morgan, director of Innovation and Research for Piedmont Healthcare and clinical director of its COVID Task Force.
Morgan, who is also a member of the American Heart Association’s Atlanta board, the local and Southeast Region Health Equity Committee, and the Health Technology Task Force, gets to The Heart of the Issue in this on-demand webinar.
She cites the illegal use of Black bodies as cadavers for teaching purposes and gynecological procedures performed on female slaves without anesthesia in the 1800s. She also points to the Tuskegee syphilis study of 1932-1972, in which the U.S. Public Health Service denied treatment to 600 Black sharecroppers — 399 with syphilis and 201 without — to explore disease progression.
“We must move from exploitation to representation and from experimental to investigational,” Morgan said. Growing commitment to diversity among physicians, clinical trial investigators and research participants will help us get there.
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Dr. E. Gaylon McCollough donates book proceeds to AHA. |
Dr. E. Gaylon McCollough donates book proceeds to AHA.
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Book on legendary coach benefits the AHA’s legendary cause |
When University of Alabama head football coach, Paul William “Bear” Bryant, died following two heart attacks in 1983, he had six national championships, 13 conference championships and the most wins in collegiate football history. But few knew the man behind the legend like Dr. E. Gaylon McCollough, who played for Bryant in 1962-1964, became a close friend and later served as his physician and surgeon.
Now, as the American Heart Association gears up for the 35th Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards on January 13, McCollough is donating proceeds from the book he penned on Bryant’s life to support our mission.
“The Long Shadow of Coach Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant” transports readers from the boardroom and locker room to the gridiron as it reveals the icon’s perspectives on winning and losing with grace, on the field and in life.
“As he approached the end of his coaching career, he shared his concerns about his health, spirituality and the football program with me and often solicited my advice,” McCollough said. “It was a singular honor to be placed in that position.”
“The Long Shadow of Coach Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant” is one of 22 books he has authored, with proceeds benefiting charity. Copies are available through the Bryant Museum at the University of Alabama, or on Amazon.
“Not a day passes that I don’t reflect on some lesson I learned from my coach and friend,” he said. “It is fitting that the things he stood for, and sacrificed for, are being recognized by the American Heart Association.”
Established by the Bryant family and the AHA in 1986, the Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards honor coaching excellence and raise funds for cardiovascular research.
To learn more and attend the virtual awards show, visit bryantawards.org. |
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