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Sigh. This picture sums up how I felt yesterday. This legislative session, which started out with much promise, may very well end with the swipe of the Governor’s veto pen. The Governor has vetoed a bill that would have allowed Maine youth, our next generation of heroes, to learn Hands Only...

I am sitting here in the Law and Legislative Reference Library on the second floor of the State House. I might as well bring in pictures of my daughter and a plant or two. I spend more time here than I do at the office. So does my friend Hilary (sitting across from me as usual). She is the Government...

If you knew that a painless, non-invasive 45 second test that only cost $4.00 could potentially pick up a critical congenital heart disease in a newborn….would you do it? Yup. Me too. Congenital heart defects are the number one birth defect in the US and the number one killer of infants with birth...

Wow—the first half of “Heart Month” has been a whirlwind complete with a blizzard. Just the way I like it. Although (with Cecelia’s help) we dug out from the blizzard, we have not even begun to “dig out” from all the exciting work we have this month. We started...

When I made it to my kitchen this morning, my handy L.L. Bean thermometer registered “-0.” Yup. It actually said “-0” which I did not know was an actual temperature—but apparently it was so cold this morning that just saying “0” was not enough. Of course,...

Louise Beaulieu Maine "People say to me if I had a heart attack, anyone could. This was a wake-up call to everyone." Louise feels it is imperative that she share her story with other Maine women, so that they take care of themselves so that they can be around for their families.　 This...

Mindy Beyer Scarborough, Maine I was born with a complex congenital heart condition. My parents were told that if I made it to the age of three I would be lucky. I am now 34 years old and a cardiac nurse. Recently, (much to the amazement of my cardiologist), I became a mother to a beautiful baby boy...

Jennifer Damon Maine In January of 2006, I was working the overnight shift at a rehab for women when I started feeling the “classic” symptoms of a heart attack. I was 31 years old and thought that I was too young to be having a heart attack, so I ignored those first symptoms. I noticed...

Richard Veilleux Maine In March 1980 I was expecting a visit from my Mom and Dad. Instead, I got a phone call from my brother telling me that my Dad had suffered a heart attack. That was the first of several cardiac problems my father has lived through. Now, 32 years later, he is still going strong...

Don’t worry. Things are not going to the dogs here at the Scarborough office. This is just what you might find when you stay late to update your blog. Gary, our Jump Rope and Hoops for Heart Coordinator is busy creating his “recess-in-a- bag” incentives. His daughter and puppy Tokie...

Things are really picking up around here! After missing some work due to a heart-related death in my family, I am back and doubly motivated to fight heart disease. My calendar is a mish-mash of driving around the state to meet with legislators about bills, introducing myself to volunteers in northern...

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by family and friends. My Thanksgiving was extremely poignant this year. My younger sister Kate passed away from Pulmonary Hypertension on November 17th. This rare heart condition strikes young women and is very difficult to diagnose and treat...

I am so lucky. Everyday I get to work with the best volunteers and staff in the world. Together we are able to help make our families and our communities more heart healthy and stroke-free. I want to make sure you know how thankful all of the AHA staff is for you and all of your actions. Every time you...

Exciting? Yes! Ambitious? You, bet! Attainable? Absolutely! The AHA & the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are proud to announce a new collaboration aimed at reversing the childhood obesity epidemic in the U.S. by 2015. And we’ll need your help! Learn more http://bit.ly/QJ8gmk What do you think...

“We have a tremendous opportunity to save many other people. But to do so, we must initiate …. We must innovate … and we must collaborate.” With those words, Donna Arnett, PhD, MSPH, BSN, FAHA, President of the American Heart Association officially opened Scientific Sessions...

Today is Halloween, and in typical Northern New England style, mermaids need to wear winter coats before they go out trick-or-treating. If you grew up around here, you remember working really hard on your costume and then being forced to cover it up with a ski jacket. Sigh. All that hard work and no...

Campaign signs are multiplying like bunny rabbits on the roadsides and yards around the state. Anyone who watches TV is anxiously awaiting the return of auto dealer commercials and regularly scheduled programming. Must be the last push towards Election Day…. As I write this, Election Day is...

This was quite an eventful week up here in Maine. We had an earthquake, I went to New Hampshire for a great Heart Hall, to Augusta for the Maine Public Health Association’s annual meeting and then to Wells for an amazing Go Red for Women event last night. Phew. Now it is Friday and I am listening...

Recently, we have been teaching C how to swing. She loves to swing—the higher the better. Her father and I have started to teach her how to “pump” so that she can swing by herself if we are not around to push (or when our arms get tired). She is starting to get the hang of it. I am...

Hello there Southern Maine Advocates. I want to meet you in person and I discovered the perfect venue. There is a Go Red for Women York event on October 18th at the Coastal House in Wells. It is part education, part auction, part awards and (I have been promised) totally fun. I will be there wearing...

Every morning my daughter runs out to the deck to greet the school bus taking the “big kids” to school. She is still too young to get on that bus, but will in a few short years. We are teaching her the basics to keep her safe and healthy—look both ways, hold hands, and brush your teeth...

Hi, my name is David Day and I am the Vice President of Government Relations for the American Heart Association’s “Founders” Affiliate. The photo you see here is of me participating in the New England "Tough Mudder" race at Mt. Snow, Vermont earlier this past spring. I wanted...

The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association are hard at work, advocating for life-saving policies from Augusta to Washington, D.C. Your fellow Maine advocates have already accomplished some amazing things: smoke-free workplaces, public health funding and so much more! But this...