Power To End Stroke (PTES) is an education and awareness campaign that embraces and celebrates the culture, energy, creativity and lifestyles of Americans. It unites people to help make an impact on the high incidence of stroke within their communities. PTES was created in 2006 by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association to help reach the ASA mission to reduce stroke and risk of stroke by 20% by 2020.

It was also meant to raise critical awareness within the African American population. Heart disease and stroke are major health risks for all people, but African Americans are at particularly high risk. Consider this:

• Blacks have almost twice the risk of first-ever strokes compared to whites.
• Blacks have higher death rates for stroke compared to whites.
• The prevalence of high blood pressure in African Americans in the United States is the highest in the world.

The PTES movement encourages people to take action to reduce their risk, and in the month of May, we are asking you to join other faith-based organizations in the fight against heart disease and stroke. This year, we are asking you to wear the color purple to show your support for PTES and share the message of heart health with your congregation.

As a leader in a faith-based organization, God has empowered you to share the Good News.  And part of that is sharing life-saving health information with your members.  Please register below to receive materials to help you encourage individuals to:

• Wear Purple on Sundays in the month of May.
• Join the fight against heart disease and stroke by asking every member in your congregation to sign up for Power to End Stroke.
• Help your members and their families adopt healthier lifestyles.

In the Dallas/Ft. Worth area?
Come join the American Heart Association and Grammy award winning artist Kirk Franklin to celebrate Power Sunday at St. John Church in Grand Prairie on May 27 at 11:00 am.  (for directions, call 972-264-1483)

Power Sunday is a Sunday each May that the American Heart Association designates with local churches to raise awareness of the risk for stroke and how to prevent it. It is celebrated as a part of our Power To End Stroke Movement to involve the faith community in understanding stroke risk and prevention. Power Sunday is celebrated nationwide, with over 5,000 churches participating every year. The congregants are encouraged to wear purple signifying stroke risk and awareness in their community. Check out what’s happening at Power Sunday:

• Join us and the congregation of St. John Church wearing our best purple attire to raise awareness about stroke.
• Hear Kirk Franklin’s moving testimony about our physical health and spiritual health and the importance of living a heart healthy life-style
• AHA staff will be on hand to educate attendees about stroke prevention and recognizing the warning signs.  
• Free soul food cookbooks to the first 75 people that join our healthy mobile network by texting MYHEART to 50555

 “To all my sisters and brothers in this Family of Faith, we have a serious health issue that is claiming the lives of our loved ones every day. It’s called stroke, and it’s time to make a declaration to stand up and do something about it.” - Kirk Franklin in support of Power To End Stroke