Iowa
Help us ensure everyone in Iowa has the opportunity to live longer, healthier lives.

CPR Saves Lives

Bystander CPR can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival. By conducting training sessions, working with groups like the Quad Cities Heart Safe Coalition and Rotary-Kerber HeartSafe in Iowa City and providing interactive resources like the Hands-Only CPR Kiosk sponsored by Mercy College of Health Sciences at Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines, our Iowa team is in the community spreading the message that it only takes two steps to save a life.
Know Your Numbers

Accurate blood pressure measurement is critical for timely diagnosis and treatment of individuals with high blood pressure. That’s why we work closely with community gathering spaces such as barber shops, thrift stores and fitness centers to empower Iowans to measure and track their blood pressure and take steps to prevent heart disease and stroke. We’ve also launched Check. Change. Control.® to help Iowans fight the ‘silent killer.’
Iowa Mission: Lifeline Stroke

Iowa Mission: Lifeline Stroke’s innovative regional collaboration is working to ensure compatibility, consistent training and uniform protocols for both transporting and treating stroke patients across the state.
Survivor Story: Real-Life Super Woman
By all accounts, Heather Bottelman is a real-life super woman. Balancing her family and professional responsibilities always came second nature to her. That was until she started to feel off. That’s when this super woman needed to try something different – look out for her own health.
Watch Heather’s StoryFeatured Recipe: Snickerdoodles
Soft, chewy, and rolled in cinnamon, these “sugar” cookies have far less added sugar than the traditional varieties. These treats will warm your heart when the weather outside is frightful.
Make the mouth-watering favorite today!
Check out our other recipesFocus on Quality
When medical professionals apply the most up-to-date evidence-based treatment guidelines, patient outcomes improve. That's the simple truth behind the drive for continuous quality improvement. Our comprehensive suite of programs can help you advance farther and faster in the quest for ever-better care.
Learn more about Get With The GuidelinesLife’s Essential 8
Life’s Essential 8 are the key measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health, as defined by the American Heart Association. Better cardiovascular health helps lower the risk for heart disease, stroke and other major health problems.
Check out your checklist for lifelong good healthYOUR GIFT NOW MATCHED $-for-$!
Don’t miss this chance to make 2X the difference! When you share your heart with a gift now, it will be MATCHED to help save more lives.

Events in Your Area
Cedar Rapids Heart Ball
Location: The Hotel at Kirkwood Center
Date: Saturday, February 3, 2024 - 05:00 PM
RegisterGreater Des Moines Heart Ball
Location: Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center
Date: Saturday, February 10, 2024 - 05:00 PM
RegisterIowa Workplace Health Symposium
Location: UnityPoint Health – Education and Research Center
Date: TBD
RegisterQuad Cities Heart Ball
Location: St. Ambrose Rogalski Center
Date: Saturday, April 6, 2024 - 05:30 PM
RegisterDubuque Area Heart Walk
Location: Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2024 - 08:00 AM
RegisterQuad Cities Heart Walk
Location: Schwiebert Park (Rock Island)
Date: Saturday, June 8, 2024 - 08:00 AM
RegisterIn Your Community
The American Heart Association is committed to driving equitable health impact in Iowa through five key priority areas: women, readiness, tobacco and vaping, patients, and healthy living. Equity is always at the center of our work, and it will continue to guide all that we do.
Through our focus on these key impact areas, and with collaboration among local organizations, sponsors, businesses, and others that serve the community, we are working to improve the health and well-being of Iowa citizens while saving and improving countless lives.
Throughout the state of Iowa, we’ve seen our community impact work grow, including efforts around creating avenues for greater access to care, expanding healthy food access and education, building a network of first responders through CPR kits in schools, supporting blood pressure screenings and education, and educating on the dangers of tobacco and vaping.
People are counting on us as never before. We at the American Heart Association, along with our supporters, will drive change, and we will be relentless.

For more than 40 years, Advocacy has had a mission-critical role in the American Heart Association's work. Our legislative and regulatory priorities help to mitigate risk factors and protect survivors in communities across the country. We support the enactment of evidence-based public policies that lead to longer, healthier lives.
Public policy advocacy is an essential strategy used by the Association to affect necessary and sustainable policy, system and environmental changes that help Iowa citizens build healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Our efforts in Iowa and its communities are focused on the following policy areas: Maternal health, Access to Care Funding and Coverage, Nutrition Security, Health Equity Community Plans, Healthy Early Childhood Policies, Cardiac Emergency Response Plans and CPR implementation in schools.

Board President
Lena Rydberg, DO
The Iowa Clinic
Board Chair
Karen Rieck
Farm Bureau Financial Services
Leadership Development Chair
Sarah Borchers
ITA Group Inc.
Members
Muhammad Awan
The Iowa Clinic
Sarah Borchers
Aureon
Kris DeGraff
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Leisha DeSmet
YMCA of Greater Des Moines
Jill Greiner
Johnson Greiner Financial
Consulting Group of Wells Fargo Advisors
Angel Grubb
Community Volunteer
Leslie S. Hough, CPCU, RPLU
Nationwide Insurance
John Irving
Tri-City Electric Co.
Izaah Knox
Urban Dreams
Craig Krimbill
Sammons Financial Group
Stephani Manning
Holmes Murphy & Associates
Matt Meendering
Dowling Catholic High School
Tom Mulrooney
UnityPoint Health – Des Moines
Janet Naset-Payne, RN, BS, MHA
Broadlawns Medical Center
Dr. Padmanabham Priyesh
UnityPoint Health – Des Moines
Elisa Sloss, RD, LD
Hy-Vee Food Stores, Inc.
David Stark
UnityPoint Health
Jody Schweiger, RDN, LD, CDCES
The Iowa Clinic
Contact Us
Des Moines, Iowa
(MAIL ONLY)
8805 Chambery Blvd,
Ste 300, PMB 126
Johnston, IA 50131
Phone: (515) 414-3200
Eastern Iowa
By Appointment Only:
1035 N. Center Point Rd., Ste B
Hiawatha, IA 52233
Phone: (319) 536-3900

Heart and Stroke News
Find science-based stories about heart and brain health and inspiring survivor profiles from American Heart Association News.
