American Heart Association Minnesota
Leading with Survivors
Meet Luca—a true heart champion! Born with Tetralogy of Fallot, Luca has faced more surgeries in his first three years than most do in a lifetime. His courage and resilience inspire us every day and remind us why the American Heart Association’s mission matters.
Luca's story was shared at the 2025 Twin Cities Heart Ball.
Screening for Hypertension
High blood pressure is known as the “silent killer” and many of our communities are disproportionately affected. We’re partnering with our neighbors in these communities to provide accessible blood pressure screenings through community BP Hubs, so that everyone can know their numbers and take better control of their health.
Funding Health Equity Solutions
We’re supporting community-based solutions that reduce social and economic barriers to health equity in Minnesota through two initiatives, the Social Impact Fund and EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator™.
Featured Recipe
A bowl of chicken noodle soup always equals comfort. The vegetables add nutrition and an aromatic flavor. This soup can be prepared at a moment’s notice and turns mealtime into a warm and satisfying experience - perfect for those cold winter days!
CPR & First Aid Training
Emergencies leave us feeling helpless, but they don’t have to. Take two minutes to learn Hands-Only CPR™ now. 70 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in homes. When a person has a cardiac arrest, starting the chain of survival by calling 911 and immediately starting CPR can double or triple their chance of survival. Prepare to save a life, find a CPR course near you today.
Outpatient Quality Improvement
Our comprehensive suite of ambulatory care quality improvement initiatives - Target: BP™, Target: Type 2 Diabetes and Check. Change. Control. Cholesterol™ - work together to reduce cardiovascular deaths, heart attacks, and strokes. Local mini-grants can help you advance further and faster in the quest for better outpatient care.
New Moms Face the Highest Risk
In Your Community
The American Heart Association is committed to driving equitable health impact in Minnesota 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 Minnesota citizens while saving and improving countless lives.
Throughout the state of Minnesota, 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. Thank you for your continued support.
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 Minnesota citizens build healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Our efforts in Minnesota and its communities are focused on the following policy areas: Tobacco and Vaping, Access to Care, Medicaid Expansion, and Hypertension Prevention and Control.
Board Chair
Ian Wildenborg
KPMG
Board President
Robin Germany, MD, FACC
ZOLL Respicardia
Members
Kerry DeLaney
Lactalis
Carol Droegemueller
Regions Hospital
Richard Dujmovic
Boston Scientific
Chris Ellis
Medtronic
Ahmed Elmouelhi
Tricares
John Heinbigner
EY
Matt Hunt
Blue Cross Blue Shield MN
Jaya Kumar
M Health Fairview
Mark Thompson
Marsden (company)
Peter Olson-Skog, PhD
School District 197
Pat Schmitt
UCare
President
Mary Boylan, MD
President
St. Luke's Regional Heart & Vascular Center
Chair
Joseph Haas
SVP of Private Wealth
Associated Bank
Members
Heather Baker, EdD
Principal
Dorothy Simon Elementary School/Winnebago CUSD #323
Tasha Blackmon
President & CEO
Cherry Health
Kim Bors
Senior Vice President
Chief Human Resources Officer
Dover Corporation
Mercedes Carnethon, PhD
Vice Chair, Department of Preventive Medicine and Mary Harris Thompson Professor of Medicine
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Gyasi Chisley
Managing Director
Head of Corporate Healthcare
PNC Bank
Monte Curnutt
Vice President, Corporate Development
Roche Diagnostics
Eileen Robertson Hamra
CEO
Fit Together, LLC
Karen Harbin
President & CEO
Commonwealth Credit Union
Delores Hargrove-Young
Vice Chairwoman
d.e. Foxx & Associates, Inc.
Linda Imonti
Managing Partner
KMPG LLP
Retired
Joshua J. Joseph, MD
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Cathy O’Malley Kearney, JD
Executive Vice President
Head of Institutional Services
KeyBank
Devray Kirkland
Vice President
Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
Cardinal Health
Brett Kissela, MD, MS
Executive Vice-Dean
Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Chief of Research Services
UC Health
Sharon Langshur
Research Project Coordinator
Northwestern Medicine
Karen Larimer, PhD ACNP-BC, FAHA, FPCNA
Director Clinical and Research Operations
Cardiosense
Keith Miller, MD, PhD, FACC
Cardiologist
Bryan Health
John Mongelluzzo
Managing Partner
Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP
Howard O’Brien
Associate
Howard & O’Brien Executive Search
Karen Rieck
Vice President, Human Resources
Farm Bureau Financial Services
Lee Shapiro, JD
Managing Partner
7wire Ventures
John Walsh, DSc, MBA, FACHE
Louisville, Kentucky
Contact Us
By Appointment Only:
2750 Blue Water Road, Ste. 250
Eagan, MN 55121
Heart and Stroke News
