Arizona

Stroke is a medical emergency and time lost is brain lost.  Yet, a recent study published in the American Heart Association journal, Circulation, showed less than one-third of stroke patients arrive at the hospital via ambulance. This can mean delayed treatment and a more difficult recovery.

When you recognize the symptoms of a stroke, call 9-1-1 right away. When stroke patients are transported to the hospital via ambulance, emergency responders can call ahead to ensure the hospital is prepared to receive and quickly treat the patient. Prompt treatment is critical to ensuring positive patient outcomes.

Remember the acronym F.A.S.T. to help you recognize symptoms and what to do:

                F - Face Drooping: Does one side of the face droop or is it numb?

                A - Arm Weakness: Is one arm weak or numb?

                S - Speech Difficulty: Is speech slurred, are they unable to speak, or are they hard to understand?

                T - Time to call 911: If the person shows any of these symptoms, call 9-1-1 immediately.

Do you have a story of stroke survival? Did you recognize the symptoms? Share your stroke story here.

Learn more about the American Heart Association’s advocacy efforts to improve stroke care in every state.

In Arizona, we have a fight on our hands. With growing public awareness on the ill-effects of cigarettes, the tobacco industry has been hard at work creating new alternative tobacco products to hook the next generation of smokers.  To complement the release of new tobacco products including e-cigarettes, snus and dissolvables; the tobacco industry has crafted a public relations campaign to promote alternative tobacco products as “safe” alternatives to smoking. 

As part of the tobacco industry’s effort to disguise alternative products as safe, they are sponsoring Senate Bill 1209 in Arizona to exempt products like e-cigarettes from existing smoke-free laws and policies.  Alternative tobacco products have not been proven to be safe, and are currently under Food & Drug Administration (FDA) review.  On Tuesday, April 23 Senator Driggs confirmed his commitment to protect Arizona Youth from Big Tobacco.  SB 1209 was scheduled for a final vote in the Senate and was steps away from the Governor's desk when Senator Drigg requested the bill be held.

Preliminary research by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Office on Smoking & Health has indicated that alternative tobacco products actually increase the consumption of tobacco-derived products, posing a significant health risk. Because of these reasons and many more, the AHA does not support SB 1209 and needs your help to thank Senator Driggs for pulling the bill from consideration until the FDA has made its recommendations on the products.

Please take a moment out of your day to thank Senator Driggs. 

Two weeks ago, Governor Brewer unveiled her draft legislation for the restoration of the childless adult population, commonly referred to as the Prop 204 population. At the press conference there were a large number of groups in attendance, both opposition and supporters, including AHA members.  As you can imagine, there is a large amount of opposition within the legislature to the restoration of this population.  In fact, last week, Representative Kavannagh, District 23 and chair of the House Appropriations Committee, held a very long informational hearing on the draft proposal. The attendance at this hearing was impressive, and both sides were represented.

The AHA has long supported the Affordable Care Act, so it is no surprise that we support the restoration of the childless adult population within the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (our version of AHCCCS) We are combining our efforts with a larger coalition that is comprised of many of the non-profit groups that focus on health:  American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and others. We are working together to have a coordinated message that is sent to our legislators expressing just how important this is for our organizations and members.  Additionally, we are working to identify those people who have had specific access to care issues. If you know of someone who might be willing to share their story, please forward the contact information to Nicole.olmstead@heart.org

- Nicole Olmstead, Arizona Government Relations Director

The sequester has taken effect and the battle over the budget continues in Congress. Yet You’re the Cure advocates are preparing to go to Washington, DC to fight for critical heart and stroke funding. Our Western States Affiliate delegation, made up of survivors, caregivers, researchers, and physicians, represents seven of our ten states.

This tremendous group will urge legislators to restore funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that was recently cut by the sequester. While a 5% cut may not sound like a lot, the impact on the NIH was in fact truly significant: a 5% cut to the NIH budget equates to $1.6 billion. This cut reduced the number of grants given, cut more than 20,000 jobs nationwide and reduced economic activity by $3 billion. To repair this economic damage and to ensure the U.S. remains a leader in medical research, advocates will urge Congress to fund the NIH at $32 billion for 2014. Research remains our best hope to find more effective ways to prevent, treat and cure heart disease and stroke.

Advocates will also encourage Congress to allocate $35 million of prevention fund dollars to the Million Hearts Initiative. This will create a nationwide high blood pressure educational campaign. One in three Americans have high blood pressure but many either don’t know it or don’t have it under control. Someone with high blood pressure is four times more likely to die of a stroke and three times more likely to die of heart disease. The Million Hearts Initiative will helps Americans get this dangerous risk factor under control.

You can be a part of this important advocacy event. Send your “heart” to Washington and urge legislators to fund these lifesaving heart and stroke programs. 

A bipartisan group of women from the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate joined the American Heart Association on Valentine’s Day to ‘Go Red’ in support of the 43 million women who are currently living with heart disease.

Women members from the House and Senate gathered for a photo at the U.S. Capitol dressed in red to remind people across the country that heart disease is not just a “man’s disease.”  It is the number one killer of women in the United States and accounts for one out of three female deaths annually. Every minute one woman dies because of heart disease.

February is American Heart Month and it also marks the 10th anniversary of the American Heart Association’s ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign. In the last decade more than 627,000 women’s lives have been saved and awareness that heart disease is women’s number one killer has increased 23 percent.

On Thursday, January 31, 2013, over 40 You’re the Cure volunteers and AHA staff met with 50 members of the Arizona Legislature at the 2013 Arizona Lobby Day.  The event, held at the Arizona State Capitol, provided the AHA an opportunity to show our elected leaders the many different ways we bring the mission to the community.  The AHA in Arizona worked with the Arizona Department of Health Services to provide hands-only CPR training to volunteers and legislators.  In fact, during lobby day, we were able to train approximately 80 students who were at the capitol and really highlight just how easy CPR is to learn and perform. 

You’re the Cure advocacy volunteers Rachel Miller, from Tucson, and Rafael “Ralphie” Rendon, from Ajo, spoke about their experiences with sudden cardiac arrest.  Rachel, a mother of two and former school teacher, experienced sudden cardiac arrest in her twenties.  Luckily her friend knew how to do CPR and was able to save her life.  Unfortunately, her brother was not as lucky and died shortly after Rachel had her sudden cardiac arrest.  Rachel went on to teach CPR in her 8^th grade classroom until she left teaching.  Ralphie was 14 when his heart stopped suddenly.  He was at high school football practice, and remembers not feeling very good.  Two weeks later, he woke up in the ICU and learned that one of his coaches had saved his life with hands-only CPR.  These individuals were able to highlight why it is so important that everyone learn how to do hands-only CPR.  As a result of their stories, and the experience of learning CPR themselves during the event, several of the legislators that attended our lobby day were supportive of the CPR in schools effort and are considering signing on to the bill. 

The event was capped of by the reading and unanimous adoption of the Arizona Wear Red Resolution, championed by the House Health Chair, Representative Heather Carter.  Representative Carter has led the effort in raising awareness for heart disease and stroke in the Arizona Legislature for the past two years.  After the resolution was read and adopted by both the Arizona House and the Senate, some of the female members gathered in the courtyard of the Capitol to highlight the red fashions they were wearing for the occasion. Congratulations to the entire Phoenix and Tucson staff that helped make this event possible.

- Nicole Olmstead, Arizona Government Relations Director

The 51^st Legislature is less than a week away from beginning the 2013 session.  This year is shaping up to be a very interesting year.  This year we are working to ensure that all Arizona students in middle school with have to learn Hands Only CPR.  Each year this would provide us with an additional 65,000 people who know how to save someone’s life.  That’s amazing!  But is not a guaranteed win.  We have some work to do to convince the legislature that this is a good thing and that it isn’t  a huge burden on schools to dedicated 30 minutes once a year to teaching their students to save someone’s life.

We will gather at the Arizona Capitol on January 31, 2013 for the AHA Lobby Day.  At that time, we will have the chance to meet with our legislators, talk with them about the importance of CPR and impress upon them the need to pass the legislation putting this instruction in middle schools.  We need to have as many of our dedicated AHA volunteers there as possible.  The event runs from 10:30 – 2:00pm.  Sign up today!

- Nicole Olmstead, Arizona Government Relations Director

Guest Blogger: Christine Wooley, Advocate Leader

With the holidays in full swing, it can be a challenge to stick to your normal workout routine and stay on a healthy diet. This holiday I have been wearing a pedometer and keeping healthy food choices available to help stay fit and ward off unwanted pounds.

My goal is to walk 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day. This sounds like a lot of walking, but you will be amazed at how quickly the steps add up. Wearing a pedometer has helped me to be more aware of my daily physical activity. It’s actually been really fun to set step goals. I purchased my pedometer through my healthcare provider. You can also purchase pedometers with the AHA logo on them at the American Heart Association website, shop.heart.org

Last Saturday, knowing that I wanted to get at least 8,000 steps of walking in and having Christmas shopping to do, I parked my car outside of the downtown shopping area and walked rather than parking next to the shops. I loved periodically checking my pedometer to see how many steps were accumulating, and to my surprise ended up walking 13,580 steps.

Another thing that I have been doing to try and stay ahead of the curve, so to speak, is to have healthy snacks around the house. Our fruit bowl is full of fresh yummy fruits, and we have crunchy veggies in the refrigerator ready for snacking. The T.V. room has nuts in the shell to eat while watching our favorite holiday shows. Having to crack the shells keeps me from eating too fast.

The holiday season only comes around once a year, so don’t feel guilty about eating your favorite holiday treats. Just grab a pedometer, get your daily exercise in, eat healthy when you can, and most importantly enjoy!

Wishing you a happy holiday season and a healthy new year! 

- From your Western States Affiliate Advocacy Team

The American Heart Association recently released an update on rates of heart disease and stroke. Read the article here.

While much progress had been made in the last decade to reduce these rates, continued unhealthy behaviors are putting this progress at risk. Poor eating and exercise habits may be to blame.

High blood pressure and cholesterol medications may only reduce the nation’s risk of heart disease so much. The rest must be managed with healthy behaviors. What will you do to improve your health and reduce your risk?

- Lindsay Williams, Grassroots Advocacy Director