What we do in Illinois
OUR MISSION
Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.
The American Heart Association is working to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20% while reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20% by the year 2020.
Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.
The American Heart Association is working to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20% while reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20% by the year 2020.
Making Our Community Healthy
Our My Heart. My Life.TM prevention platform includes:
- Teaching Gardens to encourage school children to eat more fruits and vegetables
- Cooking Classes to help parents prepare healthy meals for their families
- Walking Clubs and Walking Paths to promote exercise and safe places to walk
- Fit-Friendly Company Program to recognize employee wellness initiatives
- Heart Walks to celebrate healthy lifestyles and fund research and health initiatives
Our My Heart. My Life.TM prevention platform includes:
- Teaching Gardens to encourage school children to eat more fruits and vegetables
- Cooking Classes to help parents prepare healthy meals for their families
- Walking Clubs and Walking Paths to promote exercise and safe places to walk
- Fit-Friendly Company Program to recognize employee wellness initiatives
- Heart Walks to celebrate healthy lifestyles and fund research and health initiatives
Improving Our Family's Health
We make it easier for all families to live, eat and stay healthy by educating and encouraging behavior change and generating much-needed financial support.
- Go Red For Women movement to fight women's #1 health threat
- Power To End Stroke initiative to reduce African Americans' high risk of stroke
- Training in CPR, advanced life support, AED (defibrillator) use and first aid
- Jump Rope For Heart and Hoops For Heart programs for schools
- Heart-Check Food Certification Programto help shoppers select healthy foods
- My Life Check and dozens of other online tools
Creating Healthy Environments
Through federal, state and local advocacy efforts, we are fighting for
- clean indoor air, tobacco regulation
- access to quality health care
- restaurant menu labeling
- healthy school meals
- sodium and trans-fat reduction
- phy ed and CPR training in schools.
Ensuring Quality Health Care
We help improve the healthcare system to ensure the best care for all patients. We coordinate, support and advocate for programs that improve patient access and care at hospitals, doctor's offices and community health centers.
- Get With The Guidelines and The Guideline Advantage programs helping hospitals and physician practices treat heart disease and stroke patients according to proven guidelines
- Mission: Lifeline initiative is improving emergency care for heart attack victims
Delivering Emotional Support to Patients
- ShareGivers Peer Visitor Program for new stroke survivors and caregivers
- Go Red For Women Heart Match Program to give or receive online support
- Stroke Family Warmline (888) 4-STROKE
Working to End Heart Disease and Stroke
We save countless lives by supporting heart and stroke research.
- Heart Walks, Heart Balls, Go Red luncheons, planned gifts, memorial gifts, workplace giving and other fund-raising efforts allow us to invest over $110 million a year in research nationwide (nearly 20% of total expenses)
- We also advocate for increased government funding for cardiovascular research.
- We use research findings to develop medical guidelines that are disseminated through scientific journals, conferences and online courses.
- The $3.3 billion we've invested since 1949 has led to breakthroughs such as CPR; pacemakers; bypass surgery; heart defect repair; and blood pressure, cholesterol and clot-busing drugs. Eight researchers have won Nobel Prizes for work we've helped fund.
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