American Heart Association logoAmerican Heart Association

South Carolina

To be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives in South Carolina.

South Carolina

Making South Carolina Smoke-free

Smokefree South Carolina

In South Carolina, only 36.2% of the population enjoys the liberating benefit of clean indoor air. The American Heart Association is prioritizing local smoke free efforts in the Upstate. We believe every South Carolinian should enjoy the right to breathe fresh, clean air, and are advocating for tobacco pre-emption, tobacco retail licensure and flavor elimination in electronic cigarettes.

Teaching Midlands Youth 2-steps to Save a Life

CPR Training

Did you know that when performed immediately, CPR can double or triple the chance of survival? We're committed to educating the public about Hands-Only CPR. Midlands' student athletes, coaches and families have received Hands-Only CPR training through our Youth Sports CPR initiatives, sponsored by Aflac, in Orangeburg, Richland and Lexington counties.

Upstate Elementary School raises over $25,000

Upstate Elementary School

Blythe Academy of Language leads the district as the top fundraising school for the American Heart Association’s Kids Heart Challenge, raising a total of $26,000. Students at Blythe Academy completed the Kids Heart Challenge supporting their long-term mental and physical health while raising funds to support the mission of the American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all.

Help save lives!

You can help fight heart disease by making a gift to help improve patient outcomes, fund breakthrough research, prevention, and more.

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Events in Your Area

Charleston Hard Hats with Heart

Location: New Realm Brewing

Date: Tuesday, October 10, 2023 - 04:00 PM

Register

Pee Dee Heart Walk

Location: Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center

Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023 - 09:00 AM

Register

American Heart Association Beach Ride

Location: Lakewood Camping Resort

Date: Wednesday, November 1, 2023 - 08:00 AM

Register

Upstate Heart Walk

Date: Monday, April 22, 2024 - 01:00 PM

Register

In Your Community

The American Heart Association, a global force for longer, healthier lives is committed to driving equitable health impact in South Carolina through five key priority areas: women, readiness, tobacco and vaping, patients and healthy living.

With focus on these impact areas, we are working to improve the health and well-being of South Carolinians by collaborating with others who serve our communities.

In Charleston, we are helping to improve healthy food access to downtown residents. We collaborated with The Green Heart Project, which serves as a 1/2-acre Urban Farm in a USDA designated “low income, low access” food desert. Through funding, the American Heart Association has helped provide raised garden beds at Charleston County Public Schools, as well as a walk-in cooler at the Urban Farm. This has allowed The Green Heart Project to increase the amount of fresh produce that is readily available. This organization now serves as a healthy food access point to over 2500 children and families throughout the Charleston area. The Farm Stand at the Urban Farm serves over 100 households a week and produces over 8,000 pounds of produce each year.

In the Upstate, we are working with leading medical professionals with Bon Secours St. Francis Health system. We hosted a community conversation on the vaping epidemic of today’s youth. Tobacco is now in the new form of vaping, and 1 in 5 highschoolers are vaping. The community conversation brought awareness to this issue and shared information to the Upstate community in efforts to end tobacco use for all.

In CSRA, we are committed to addressing food insecurity in our communities. One in seven people in the CSRA are faced with chronic hunger every day and 54% of our community does not have access to healthy food options. The Laney Walker Farmer’s Market provides screenings, multiple farmers and vendors offering a variety of healthy, local food options. The market also doubles SNAP benefits, meaning when shoppers swipe their SNAP card at the market manager booth, they will receive $2 in market tokens for every $1 spent. Maintaining a healthy diet and controlling blood pressure are two ways to prevent heart disease. The Laney Walker Farmer’s Market represents a collaboration between the American Heart Association, Augusta Locally Grown and Augusta-Richmond County Housing and Community Development. This market is designed to increase social and economic access to our community’s healthiest foods for community members of all income levels, but specifically the market will help to provide proper nourishment to our historically under-resourced communities.

Throughout South Carolina, we’ve seen our community impact work grow, including efforts not only around healthy food access, but also greater access to care, blood pressure education, building a network of first responders through CPR kits in schools, and tobacco and e-cigarette education and prevention.

Through support of our South Carolina communities, the American Heart Association will continue to drive change, and be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.

Community Impact

Advocacy has had a mission-critical role in the Association's work for more than 40 years. 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 American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to affect necessary and sustainable policy, system and environmental changes that help Americans build healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Advocacy

Board Chair
Phillip Coule, M.D.
Augusta University

Board President
Jose Cardenas, M.D.
Aiken Regional Medical Center

Leadership Development Chair
Jay Murray
Truist

Members

Vishal Arora, M.D.
Augusta University

Shankar Balan
Palmetto Industries International, Inc.

Brenda Brown
Patterson-Brown & Associates

Jim Clifford
North Augusta City Administration

Malinda Cobb
Richmond County School District

Yabin Dong, M.D.
Augusta University

Jennifer Hart
Aiken County Public School District

Penny Jackson
Columbia County School District

Debbie Layman
Layman Farms

Shauntia Lewis
City of Augusta

Stuart MacVean
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions

Donna Martin
Burke County Public School District

Pamela Moore
Retired

Matthew Merrifield
Aiken Regional Medical Center

Dean Seehusen, M.D.
Augusta University


Board Chair
John Golding
TD Bank

Board President
Lynn Haney Singleton
ECPI

Leadership Development Chair
Reid Banks
Banks Construction

Members 

Daniel Lackland, M.D.
MUSC Health

Gayenell Magwood, M.D.
University of South Carolina

Rev. Eric S.C. Manning
AME Church

Chris McLain, M.D.
Roper St. Francis

Larry Tarleton
Retiree

Stuart Smith
Retiree


Board Chair
Christopher James Huffman, M.D.

MUSC Midlands Division

Board President
Susan Burroughs, MHA, FACHE

MUSC Midlands Division

Leadership Development Chair
Kathy Wine, CPA

Schmoyer and Company, LLC.

Members

Tim Arnold
Colonial Life

Roslyn Artis, JD, EdD
Benedict College

Dr. Joshua Coney
MUSC

Barron Davis, Ph.D.
Richland 2 School District

Vince Ford
Prisma Health

John Giard
TD Bank

Jay Hamm, RN, FACHE
Lexington Medical Center

Jan Jernigan
Morgan Stanley

Norma Khoury, M.D.
MUSC Midlands Division

Jennifer McCormack
USC

Stephanie Simmonds, RN, MS
Nephron Pharmaceuticals

Rev. Steven Shugart
MUSC Midlands Division

Leesa Stout
Dominion Energy


Board Chair
Joshua Trout

Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Greenville

Board President
Chandra Mansell

Greenville Free Medical Clinic

Leadership Development Chair
Matt Puckett

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Members

Michael Brown
Sustaining Way

Pastor Sean Dogan
Bon Secours St. Francis Health System

Bill Jackson
Dick Brooks Honda of Greer

Meredith Kinsey
FUEL

Anne Marie Maertens
Pendleton Place

Brenda McCurry
ScanSource, Inc.

Scott Moore
98 Ventures

Tara Mosely
New Horizon Family Services, Inc.

Naresh Mullaguri, M.D.
Prisma Health - Upstate

Richard Muncaster
Muncaster Financial Group, Inc.

Julie Smart
Anderson University


Contact Us

CSRA

Mail-Only
887 Johnnie Dodds Blvd, Suite 110
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

(803) 341-9592

Florence

Mail-Only
887 Johnnie Dodds Blvd, Suite 110
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

(843) 496-0432

Lowcountry

887 Johnnie Dodds Blvd, Suite 110
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

(843) 480-4900

Midlands

Mail-Only
887 Johnnie Dodds Blvd, Suite 110
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

(803) 738-9540

Southern Coast

Mail-Only
PO Box 1410 
Bluffton, SC 29910

(843) 480-4906

Sumter

Mail-Only
887 Johnnie Dodds Blvd, Suite 110
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

(803) 410-1067

Upstate

Mail-Only
887 Johnnie Dodds Blvd, Suite 110
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

(864) 627-4158

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Heart and Stroke News

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