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.
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: I Love You, Daddy
Forty-five-year-old Eric Wetzel came home from a run and collapsed. His wife, Megan, gave him CPR immediately. Because of Megan's efforts, Eric survived. And the Wetzel family is whole.
Watch Eric’s StoryBBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with Homemade Potato Chips
This is a great American, Simple Cooking with Heart dish well-suited for the top pork-producing state in the country. Serve this Iowa favorite on gameday, a weekend or whenever the mood strikes.
Make the mouth-watering favorite today!Focus 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 healthHelp save lives!
You can help fight heart disease by making a gift to help improve patient outcomes, fund breakthrough research, prevention, and more.

Events in Your Area
Quad Cities Go Red for Women
Location: Double Tree by Hilton, Davenport, Iowa
Date: Friday, October 13, 2023 - 11:00 AM
RegisterCedar Rapids Go Red for Women
Location: Double Tree by Hilton Cedar Rapids
Date: Thursday, November 2, 2023 - 12:00 PM
RegisterCedar Rapids STEM Goes Red
Location: Double Tree by Hilton Cedar Rapids
Date: Thursday, November 2, 2023 - 11:00 AM
Des Moines STEM Goes Red
Location: FFA Enrichment Center
Date: Wednesday, November 8, 2023 - 09:00 AM
RegisterIowa City Go Red for Women
Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel & Convention Center
Date: Friday, December 15, 2023 - 11:00 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
Jodi Schweiger
The Iowa Clinic
Members
Sarah Borchers
Aureon
Thomas Brown, MD
Iowa Heart Center
Kris DeGraff
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Wade Den Hartog
Foster Group
Leisha DeSmet
YMCA of Greater Des Moines
Robert Gallegos, MD, PhD
The Iowa Clinic
Angel Grubb
Community Volunteer
Leslie S. Hough, CPCU, RPLU
Nationwide Insurance
John Irving
Tri-City Electric Co.
Pamela Johnson-Carlson, DNP, RN, NE-BC
University of Iowa Health Care
Izaah Knox
Urban Dreams
Craig Krimbill
Sammons Financial Group
Stephani Manning
Holmes Murphy & Associates
Janet Naset-Payne, RN, BS, MHA
Broadlawns Medical Center
Elisa Sloss, RD, LD
Hy-Vee Food Stores, Inc.
David Stark
UnityPoint Health
Contact Us
Des Moines, Iowa
(MAIL ONLY)
8805 Chambery Blvd,
Ste 300, PMB 126
Johnston, IA 50131
Phone: (515) 414-3200

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