In May 2025, Carla Cernigliaro and her husband, Adam Malinauskas were packing for a trip when Adam suddenly collapsed. Carla yelled for her daughter, Lauren, who was in the other room, to call 911. Thanks to skills she learned as a high school graduation requirement, Lauren, who was a sophomore in high school at the … Read more
This year, when Stacy Yentz of Peraton joined her team for the Heart Walk, the mission behind the event was more personal to her than she could have ever imagined. Last November, Stacy’s mother, Gerri, was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation (AFib). What initially seemed like a manageable diagnosis escalated quickly. Just two weeks later, Gerri … Read more
Seven years ago, local executive Jeff Roth survived a near-death experience during a workday run. In the days after, he and his family pieced together what happened. In the years since, he’s been rewriting the story of what recovery really looks like. Jeff, now director of games at Booz Allen Hamilton, was on a routine … Read more
Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anywhere. Each year, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital in the United States. 9 out of 10 of those who experience cardiac arrest do not survive. The good news is that when bystander CPR is performed, it can double or even triple survival rates. That’s … Read more
A routine bus ride from Washington, D.C. to New York City turned into a life-or-death emergency — and Christina Buckley didn’t hesitate. Christina, 30, who lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, and works in HR for a medical company, was enroute to catch a flight to Antigua to visit family. But the journey took an unexpected … Read more
For survivors and Youth Heart Ambassadors, Aubrey Spiess and Kennedy Shivers of Bristow Run Elementary, knowing they have someone at the same school who understands their experience makes a big difference. Second grader Aubrey was born with coarctation of aorta, mitral valve stenosis, and a severely large ventricular septal defect (a hole in her heart), … Read more