Thank you, Kaela Gedda, for Giving Your Time and Advocating for a Healthier Tomorrow!

Throughout November, our blog will feature AHA volunteer stories of survival and hope.

We know there are thousands of stories like these - thats why we want to say “Thanks” to all of you for “Giving” your time and sharing your lives with us.

You can’t spell CURE without U! Thank you for all you do to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

YOU’RE THE CURE!!!

Read about Kaela Gedda's story below:

Experiencing a stroke first hand was a life changing experience, and an event that I never predicted having to personally deal with. On the morning of April 11, 2009 I began noticing weakness in my left hand while getting ready for work. I told my step-dad and we both agreed I probably slept on it strange and the feeling would come back shortly. After being at work for a few hours I suddenly felt like I was going to pass out and my vision blacked out momentarily. I tried to get a glass of water and walk to the back to call my mom. Walking proved to be a difficult task because my left leg felt heavy and was not able to provide much support. I called my mom repeatedly within a short time period because I was feeling so terrible. Within about ten minutes she arrived at the salon I work at to take me home. As soon as she walked in the door and took a look at me she told me we were going to the emergency room.

When I was in the car I remember laughing because the thought of having pins and needles on my entire left side was so bizarre. I did not know what a stroke was or what the symptoms of a stroke were. My mom even laughed when I told her I felt like the blood inside my arms was “jumping around”. We blamed that feeling on the half cup of coffee I had drank while at work.

Upon reaching the emergency room the personnel at the desk asked me to fill out some forms and take a seat. Another thing I did not know about my symptoms is that they were not the kind that you take a seat and wait for your name to be called. Luckily the emergency room wasn’t that busy and I was able to get a room quickly. It was about noon when I first spoke to a nurse. The doctors started to run some tests and draw blood and I had a CAT scan. I had been sitting in the emergency room for near five hours at this point. Like any hungry teenager sitting in the emergency room on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I became irritable and ornery. I did not want to continue to be in the hospital any longer. My best friend who attends Madison called me and told me she was sitting at my house waiting for me. I had to tell her to go home because I didn’t know how much longer it would take; the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with me.

The nurse came back saying they wanted to do an MRI, it could pick up something that the CAT scan missed. Being naïve about my condition I told her I felt it was best for me to go home, eat, sleep, and come back the next day if I still didn’t feel better. Luckily I have a smart mom who felt it was best to do the test and they gave me some medicine to calm me down. I agreed to the MRI if I could go home after. Once the MRI was complete at 7:00 p.m. the doctor told me I had a stroke. The only thing I remember is crying. I wasn’t going home; I was being admitted to the ICU.

After that things moved fast. The doctors needed to run more tests to attempt to figure out why I had the stroke. They told me there was only a 50% chance they could find the reason. We discovered I had a PFO, a hole in the heart almost 25% of the population has. After a week in the hospital I left with a new level of knowledge about strokes, hearts, blood, and lots of flowers and balloons for my very supportive friends and family.

It has been six and a half months since the stroke and I am finally able to get the PFO closed. Dealing with everyday life has been a challenge, but has made me grow in countless ways.

I am very dedicated to advocacy for the American Heart Association for many reasons. The AHA not only helps survivors cope with an event, and helps others prevent and be knowledgeable about strokes and heart conditions; but also, it urges the government to act in a way to keep the citizens of America safe.

It is important for everyone to be aware of what a life threatening event like this looks like, how to prevent it, and how to help once it unfortunately has occurred. Awareness and prevention are two powerful things that we can do to prepare for situations like I experienced. If I could help one life be saved or help one person from experiencing something like I did, I know that my efforts as an advocate for the American Heart Association are worth it!

Your Hands Can Do Incredible Things...But Nothing Compares to Using Them to Save a Life!

If an adult suddenly collapsed, would you know what to do?

Hands-Only CPR is easy, and it is helping save lives. Go to http://www.handsonlycpr.org/ to learn more.

CPR. A lifesaving action.
When an adult has a sudden cardiac arrest, his or her survival depends greatly on immediately getting CPR from someone nearby. Unfortunately, less than 1/3 of those people who experience a cardiac arrest at home, work or in a public location get that help. Most bystanders are worried that they might do something wrong or make things worse. That’s why the AHA has simplified things.

Don’t be afraid. Your actions can only help.
It’s not normal to see an adult suddenly collapse, but if you do, call 911 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest. Don’t be afraid. Your actions can only help. Take a minute and look around this site and invite your friends! Increasing the number of people who know about Hands-OnlyTM CPR will increase the chance that someone can help when an adult suddenly collapses, and more lives can be saved.

Check out this video to see Hands-Only CPR in action.

American Heart Association Says IOM Report Underscores the Importance of Smoke-Free Policies to Reduce Risk of Heart Disease

The Institute of Medicine today released its long-awaited report concluding that secondhand smoke causes heart attacks, while smoke-free laws prevent heart attacks and save lives. The report also finds compelling evidence that even relatively brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause heart attacks. See the statement released below by the American Heart Association:

American Heart Association Says IOM Report Underscores the Importance of Smoke-Free Policies to Reduce Risk of Heart Disease
Evidence Shows Heart Attack Rate Decreases with Smoking Bans

(Washington, October 15, 2009) – The American Heart Association supports a new national study which found that smoking bans are effective at reducing the risk of heart attacks associated with exposure to secondhand smoke. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, “Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects: Making Sense of the Evidence” also further substantiates evidence that relatively brief exposure to secondhand smoke could lead to a heart attack.

“This report makes it increasingly clear that smoke-free policies are having a positive impact in reducing the heart attack rate in many communities,” said Clyde Yancy, M.D., American Heart Association President. “There’s no question that secondhand smoke has an adverse health impact in workplaces and public environments. We must continue to enact comprehensive smoke-free laws across the country to save lives and reduce the number of new smokers.”
The IOM report, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggests the strength of association between secondhand smoke and acute coronary events is compelling and provides evidence showing a cause-and-effect relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and heart problems.

The findings also confirm data from the 2006 U.S. Surgeon General report on the consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke that stated there “is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.” Nearly 440,000 Americans die each year of smoking-related illnesses and about 38,000 of these deaths are from second-hand smoke. About 35 percent of those deaths are related to cardiovascular disease.

“More Americans are trying to limit their exposure to secondhand smoke to improve their health and reduce the burden of healthcare costs related to tobacco use,” said Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association. “Smoke-free policies will make a huge dent in the $10 billion spent annually on healthcare costs associated with exposure to secondhand smoke.” Currently, 70 percent of the nation has smoke-free laws for workplaces, restaurants or bars.
The American Heart Association supports strong public health measures that will reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke across the United States. These policy priorities include federal regulation of the tobacco industry, adequate funding for tobacco cessation and prevention programs, comprehensive smoke free air laws and taxation of tobacco products. The association believes that smoke free laws should be comprehensive and apply to all workplaces and public environments and there should be no preemption of local ordinances, and no exemptions for hardship, opting out, or ventilation.

The IOM's materials can be found at: http://www.iom.edu/en/Reports/2009/Secondhand-Smoke-Exposure-and-Cardiovascular-Effects-Making-Sense-of-the-Evidence.aspx

CDC materials can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Smoke-FreeAir/

State cuts Tobacco Quit Line funding despite tax increases

State cuts Tobacco Quit Line funding despite tax increases

By JASON STEIN jstein@madison.com 608-252-6129 Posted: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 8:00 pm

Starting Thursday, smokers with health insurance who call the state Quit Line for help kicking their habit will get less help, the result of a 55 percent cut in state funding to smoking cessation and anti-smoking programs.

In spite of soaring state cigarette taxes, the Quit Line's funding was slashed by two-thirds - from $3.7 million a year to $1.2 million - as part of the broad cuts implemented in the 2009-11 budget signed by Gov. Jim Doyle to help solve the state's massive deficit. Total funding for anti-tobacco programs was cut from $15.3 million a year to $6.9 million.

The cuts follow a 75-cent increase in the cigarette tax on Sept. 1 that brought the state tax to $2.52 per pack, and also follows a $1-per-pack increase in 2008 - moves made to help solve budget deficits.

Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of SmokeFree Wisconsin, said more resources are needed by smokers motivated to quit by both the tax increase and a state smoking ban on bars and restaurants going into effect on July 5, 2010.

"When people need the resources most, we'll be least able to help them," Busalacchi said.

The Quit Line previously offered four sessions of follow-up calls to state smokers who call seeking to kick the habit, along with two weeks of a free nicotine patch or nicotine gum, at a total cost of $323 for callers who use all those services, said Moira Harrington, spokeswoman for the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, which oversees the Quit Line.

The Quit Line, operated by a company in Seattle, still will offer the same level of service to smokers with no health coverage or with state Medicaid coverage for the poor, she said. But smokers with private health insurance now will receive one follow-up call and the nicotine replacement items, said Harrington, who couldn't rule out additional cuts in services.

"It's not a decision we made lightly," she said. "We've just had to make a hard choice."

Dr. Michael Fiore, director of the center, said research showed more follow-up counseling sessions with smokers was more effective in helping them quit.

State Department of Health Services spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis said smokers with private health insurance still will be able to make repeat calls to the Quit Line. But now the responsibility is on the smokers to call, instead of the counselors making follow-up calls to the smoker.

"This means we will make the best use of limited Quit Line resources and maximize access to smoking cessation services through private insurance," Marquis said

Other cuts to state tobacco control programs included:

• Overall programs to help people quit smoking, including the Quit Line and programs aimed at pregnant mothers, fall from $5 million a year to $1.8 million.

• Training and technical assistance for those working to reduce smoking drop from $1.5 million in 2009 to $505,000 in 2010.

• Anti-tobacco programs aimed at minorities drop from $1.3 million to $752,000 and programs aimed at teens will drop from $928,500 to $390,000.

• Anti-smoking advertising falls from $835,000 to $430,000.

Busalacchi said she supports a bill by Rep. Jeff Smith, D-Eau Claire, that would provide more than $2 million in additional money for anti-tobacco efforts. The bill would do so by rolling back a recent increase in how much of the cigarette tax can be kept by wholesale tobacco sellers to cover the costs of collecting the tax for the state and placing tax stamps on cigarette packages.

A representative of the industry, which opposes the bill, could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Make a Call for Healthcare Reform

The AHA has set-up the Hearts for Health Care hotline to help connect you to your legislators, so you can speak up for meaningful health care reform. Simply call 1-877-854-4327 and select 2 to be connected to a live operator. They will patch you right through to your lawmakers.If you’ve never called Congress before, don’t worry – it’s easy! When a staff member answers your call, you can say:


My name is ________ and I am calling from _________.

80 million Americans are living with heart disease, stroke or other cardiovascular disease today and they need health care reform that ensures that health care is accessible, affordable, and adequate.

I stand with the American Heart Association and its American Stroke Association division in urging all members of Congress to vote “yes” on meaningful, affordable health care reform THIS year.

Thank you for passing this message on to my legislator.

All of us have a very real stake in Congressional decisions about health care reform—and making this quick call can make a big difference!