Melanie Withers is a Heart Mom who wants to continue to share Blakely’s story, not only to keep her story alive but to help other Heart Parents who are facing similar battles. If you are reading this, consider yourself privileged. Privileged to even hear the story of my sweet Blakely Elizabeth. She was feisty, she
Devon has been named a Go Red for Women “Real Woman” spokesperson for our Go Red for Women national campaign. She is in the first class ever selected for Congenital Heart Defect Survivors. This is her story. I was born with an atrioventricular septal defect and a mitral valve defect. My parents were given two
As a heart survivor, Alicia Petry has become a valued spokeswoman for the American Heart Association’s West Virginia team. Here is her story in time for American Heart Month. Everything was kind of fuzzy. I didn’t recognize the room or any one that was in my sight at that moment. I was confused, but the
“We’ve not seen anything like this since the pandemic of 1918,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases. Fauci spoke to attendees of the American Heart Association’s 2020 Scientific Sessions. His presentation, “COVID-19: Public Health & Scientific Challenges”, addressed many of the struggles found in the realm
The West Virginia team for the American Heart Association hosted the state’s first Community Dialogue event, focused on the teen vaping epidemic that has hit our nation. The event brought together panelists from the medical and education sectors as well as community members concerned about the dangers of e-cigarettes and our youth. The event was
The 2020 Roanoke Heart Ball was not only a lovely event with great attendance, great food, lots of fun and plenty of excitement, but it also became the highest-grossing Heart Ball in event history! Thanks to a perfect storm – great attendance, incredible sponsors and so many generous donations made that night – the 2020
Alicia Petry was a healthy, pregnant 22-year old when she became a member of the “Heart Survivor” club. Never did she imagine she would go into cardiac arrest upon arriving at the hospital. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that when she went in for delivery that she would end up in a
The American Heart Association recently has focused its attention on rural America. The simple fact is that rural areas, in particular the Appalachian region, have higher incidents of heart disease. This is due to many factors, including access to healthy foods, access to health care and other systemic barriers. This video allows you to take
When Ashley Ege, Senior Director of Development for Greater Virginia, became a member of the Danville Virginia Health Collaborative she never expected the group would send her down to the “Big Easy,” yet that’s exactly where she found herself recently. “Eighteen months ago I took on the co-chair position of the Healthy Spaces Action team,
The vaping crisis impacting our youth is growing each year. New studies from the American Heart Association show that 1 in 4 high school students is vaping and we know that the number of teen e-cigarette usage has doubled nationally over the past year. To combat the impact, the Association has launched its #QuitLying campaign,