Ohio

As many of you know, May is American Stroke Month as well as National High Blood Pressure Education Month. But, did you know that high blood pressure is the leading modifiable risk factor for stroke?

About 87% of strokes are ischemic strokes. This type of stroke is caused by narrowed or clogged blood vessels in the brain that cut off the blood flow to brain cells. Because high blood pressure damages arteries throughout the body, it is critical to keep your blood pressure within acceptable ranges to protect your brain from this often disabling or fatal event.

Do you know the eight main ways you can control your blood pressure?

Not Just for Adults
During National High Blood Pressure Education Month, the focus shouldn’t just be on adults – but kids as well.  Children who have high sodium diets are twice as likely to develop high blood pressure as children who have low sodium diets.  Help teach your kiddos good eating habits today! 

Not only can we change our personal risk of stroke, but we can also make our communities healthier.  To learn more about our current efforts and to show your legislators that stroke and heart health issues are important to you, please visit our Take Action center to send your supportive message today.  Don’t forget to share your actions with your friends on Facebook. 

This week, we’re celebrating those who make sure people having a stroke get the care they need as quickly as possible – EMS professionals. Every day the AHA works to ensure all citizens get appropriate care when suffering from a stroke. This starts with quick action emergency responders.  Having the right protocols in place can reduce death and disability from stroke. With policy, this involves working with government officials to be sure that exemplary stroke legislation and guidelines are put into place.

Over the years, we have worked to create and enhance stroke systems of care, which provide patients seamless transition from one stage of care to the next with the highest quality at each step. Many states have implemented quality stroke policy, such as primary stroke center recognition, EMS protocols and stroke registries.

To learn more about current efforts and to show your legislators that heart health issues are important to you, please visit our Take Action center to send your supportive message today and encourage others to send a message through Facebook.

Last Wednesday, Health Education was in the spotlight at a legislative breakfast co-hosted by the American Heart Association and the Buckeye Healthy Schools Alliance.  The day started with informal conversations regarding the need for state adopted health education standards.  Following a heart healthy breakfast, legislators and staff were given the opportunity to have their questions answered by a group of experts on the topic.  Special thanks to Mary Chace, Judy Jagger-Mescher, Joe Dake and Heather Vilvens!

Currently, Representatives Vernon Sykes and Lynn Wachtmann are seeking other legislators to join them as co-sponsors.  Each also spoke at the event and discussed their support.  They also urged their colleagues to support the pending legislation.

Want to know more about Health Education standards?  Click through to learn more or Find Us on Facebook for regular updates.  To support our request for co-sponsors, visit the Action Center and send your message today.

As we continue to think about the wellbeing of women during National Women’s Health week, smoking rates among females comes to mind. It may surprise you to learn that smoking increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by 2 to 4 times. Also, women who smoke have a 25 percent higher risk of developing heart disease as compared to men who smoke.  And, continuing to smoke throughout your life shaves 13-14 years off of your life expectancy. So, despite beliefs to the contrary, smoking doesn’t just cause a risk for lung cancer.

And Along Comes Baby

As you would imagine, smoking during pregnancy causes a whole new set of health concerns for the unborn child. In fact, it has been shown to reduce the production of a chemical that relaxes blood vessels and can lead to lowered blood flow to the fetus, resulting in lower birth weight, shorter length and smaller head circumference. If an expectant mother stops smoking early in pregnancy, enzyme levels return to normal and the infant is born at normal birth weight. Here in Ohio we are ranked 44th out of 50 with 18.6% of pregnant women smoking.

To learn about resources for quitting smoking and to show your legislators that stroke and heart health issues are important to you, please visit our Take Action center to send your supportive message today and encourage others to send a message through Facebook.

Anthony Campagna Ohio

I am a proud supporter of AHA and with good reason. When I graduated from high school in 2000, I was almost 300 lbs. I was unhealthy, unhappy, and antisocial. I blamed myself for my condition; every diet I tried failed and I took it personally.

I started college in August 2000 and that first year of college changed my life. I took a health class that was graphic to say the least. We were taught about heart disease, some of its causes, and shown nasty pictures of what a poor diet can do to your heart. The second part of that class taught us nutrition. I learned I could eat good stuff and still lose weight. After this, my life was never the same. I started an exercise class, renovated my diet, and the pounds just went from there.

I am happy to say that I was down to 150 lbs in 2005 and am now 175 lbs. after some weight training. I attribute this weight loss to education. AHA provides education and resources to people; that is absolutely vital. I have happily participated in the local Heartwalk and donated money to AHA for almost 11 years now. Education helped add years to my life and that is what AHA is doing for people everyday.

In early April, a fantastic group of Ohioans participated in the 2013 You’re the Cure on the Hill in Washington, D.C. We couldn’t be more proud of the excellent representation from the Buckeye State!

Throughout the day, eleven Ohio constituents participated in eight meetings with lawmakers and/or their staff members. They joined nearly 300 participants from across the country. While this event was slightly smaller than in years past, the effort was focused on key members, who serve in leadership or on critical committees.

This year, advocates focused on three key asks:

1. Restore National Institute of Health, reduced by the March 2013 sequester, and appropriate $32 billion in 2014 to get NIH “back on track” relative to pre-sequester funding levels (adjusted to keep pace with inflation.)
2. Allocate to the Million Hearts Campaign (from previously appropriated prevention fund dollars) to support an education campaign targeted at the 36 million Americans who have uncontrolled high blood pressure.
3. And, a more personal ask, Know Your Numbers for blood pressure.

The first day of the event, participants attended the Rally for Medical Research. They joined advocates from other health advocacy groups like cancer, diabetes and AIDs – all of which feel the positive impact of NIH research funding. An estimated 10,000 people joined the rally, which was moderated by Cokie Roberts and was live streamed on YouTube.

On Tuesday, everyone hit the Hill to spread the message. Although all of the meetings were critical, a small group of constituents ended the day in a face to face meeting with Speaker Boehner to discuss the importance of NIH funding. Way to go!

To view photos of the advocates in action, visit the Ohio Facebook page or the national You’re the Cure page. 

Did you know that stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability and the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, killing over 134,000 people nationwide?

Did you also know that stroke prevalence is projected to increase by 24.9% between 2010 and 2030 and the direct medical costs for treating stroke are expected to increase by 238%, from $28.3 billion in 2010 to $95.6 billion by 2030?

This is why we have so many noteworthy programs here at the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association to bring awareness and prevention to stroke. One such program is the Power To End Stroke initiative. This program is an education and awareness campaign that embraces and celebrates the culture, energy, creativity and lifestyles of Americans. It unites people to help make an impact on the high incidence of stroke within their communities.

Another program that was recently launched is the F.A.S.T. initiative. F.A.S.T. is an easy way to remember the sudden signs and symptoms of a stroke. When you can spot the signs, you'll know quickly that you need to call 9-1-1 for help. This is important because the sooner a stroke victim gets to the hospital, the sooner they'll get treatment. And that can make a remarkable difference in their recovery. You can learn more about F.A.S.T. and get a F.AS.T. app for your phone by clicking here.

Tara Stuttler Ohio

On October 29, 2007, at Wilson Memorial Hospital in Sidney, Ohio, a new life joined our family.  We named him Devin and fell in love with him instantly.  Unlike when his older brother Craig was born, Devin did not want to eat and just seemed too tired.  We thought it was due to the long, exhausting labor and just continued to attempt nursing here and there.  The doctors, pediatricians, and nurses all thought he looked well each time they checked him.  The next morning, about 18 hours after birth, he was taken from our room to have his picture taken and my doctor said I could go home later that afternoon.  So I started packing my bags while Devin was in the nursery posing for his newborn photos.  An hour went by and I started to worry because he should have been done a while ago.  So I made the short walk just outside my suite to the nursery.  I walked in to find my beautiful newborn baby boy inside an infant incubator.  My heart sank.  I immediately panicked and started asking what seemed like a million questions a minute.  I tried to soak up as much information as possible while trying to comfort my baby from the outside of his tiny little capsule-like environment.  I heard the nurse tell me that his color was “off” during his photo session and that the pulse oximeter reading was below normal.  An emergency mobile unit from Dayton Children’s Hospital was on its way to pick him up.  They thought he may have something wrong with his heart, but were hoping it was a false alarm.  They assured me that though some cases are serious problems, sometimes they turn out to be nothing.  I prayed and prayed and prayed like there was no tomorrow that my baby was just fine.  I embraced the nurse that was taking care of me that day as tears streamed down my face. I asked my family to help me grab my bags so we could follow the ambulance. 

Once we arrived at Dayton Children’s Hospital, the day seemed to turn from sunshine to dark and dreary.  I felt like I was living a nightmare, I just wanted to wake up—I didn’t want this to be happening.  We make it up to cardiology and we have to wait to enter.  When we get in to see Devin, they wheel in a machine to perform an echocardiogram.  The technician takes plenty of pictures and pauses several times in one area.  No, no, no this cannot be good, is all I could think.  The cardiologist on staff approached us shortly after and asked us to join him in another room.  I dreaded what he had to say but couldn’t wait to know exactly what was going on with our baby.  He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and started to draw a normal heart.  Then he drew another object about half the size that he referred to as Devin’s heart.  He explained to us that Devin had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a somewhat rare and very severe heart defect that required immediate surgery, a transplant, or the option of sending him home as is to let it “run its course.”  We were appalled at his third option and told him we wanted to look into surgical options.  The cardiologist insisted that we go to Cincinnati, which is just south of Dayton, because Dayton was not equipped to operate on him.  We said we needed a few minutes to talk to our family in the waiting area.  
 
Our family of parents, grandparents, and siblings were anxiously awaiting news of Devin’s condition.  After we informed them and everyone had time to soak it in and react to it, we said it was time to make a plan.  We had little time and desperately needed someone with more knowledge in the medical field to give us some guidance other than just the doctors at Dayton.  My mother suggested we call my cousin, Laura.  She was a nurse at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.  As soon as my mother told Laura about Devin’s heart defect, Laura told us to make arrangements to have Devin sent to Columbus immediately.  She had us write down a few names:  Dr. Mark Galantowicz and Dr. Cheatham.  Those names were foreign to us and we didn’t even know how to pronounce them.  Little did we know then just how significant those names would be to us in the future.  Laura said these doctors specialize in babies born with Devin’s complex defect and that people travel from all over the nation, even the world, to see these exceptional doctors.  We knew Laura would not guide us wrong, so we took her advice and went to the nurse’s station to have Devin’s care be transferred to Columbus as soon as possible.  The nurse called the cardiologist over to help assist in our request.  The cardiologist tried to convince us to go to Cincinnati instead of Columbus and that our son was a good as dead if we didn’t take his advice.  We were offended by his inappropriate remark, but focused on what was important by responding that Columbus was our choice and we were sticking to it!  So they scheduled the mobile unit to transport him to Columbus first thing the next morning.  That evening, an A-line was inserted into Devin where his umbilical cord once was, wire leads ran all over him, and monitors beeped around us.  We were in a strange and scary place but knew we needed to familiarize ourselves with it so we spent the night asking questions and holding our baby’s hands trying to comfort him as much as we could.

 The next morning we said good-bye to Devin so we could get a head start on the road to meet him in Columbus.  We exit the cardiology unit and press the down arrow on the elevator.  As we wait for it to approach our floor, my emotions get the best of me.  I drop my luggage right where I stood.  All I remember saying through my gushing tears was, “This isn’t right!  We should not be walking out of a hospital without our baby!”  We ignored the elevator and continued to comfort each other.  We knew we could do this--whatever it takes.

 We make it to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus and realize that it is Halloween.  It is usually one of our favorite holidays and we were a bit disappointed that Devin wouldn’t be able to wear costume I bought for him.  However, we were more concerned about getting him settled in at the hospital we would soon come to know as our second home.  We beat Devin to the hospital, so we took advantage of that extra time to register, become acquainted with where the NICU was, and contact family.  When Devin arrived and we were able to see him in the NICU, a weight seemed to lift off our shoulders.  We knew this is exactly where we were supposed to be.  The clouds of the previous day’s dreariness seemed to lift away as the sun shone through.  I knew we made the right choice.

 The staff at Nationwide Children’s Hospital was amazing.  They helped us become familiar with all the resources that were available to us, including the Ronald McDonald House.  Before we knew it, it was time to meet Dr. Mark Galantowicz, the cardiac surgeon we chose for Devin.  He recommended either the Hybrid procedure or the Norwood procedure.  Though the Norwood was more well-known because it had been around for so long, the Hybrid was less invasive on the newborn as the first surgery, and the doctors that pioneered the procedure were Dr. Galantowicz and Dr. Cheatham.  They had special Hybrid suites right there inside the hospital where we were.  After about 48 hours of research, we chose what our guts initially told us to—the Hybrid.

 On November 5, 2007, Devin had his first staged surgery and it went smoothly.  He recovered quickly and we were sent home on November 14, 2007.  Once we were home we had bi-weekly visits to Columbus to see his wonderful cardiologist, Dr. Pamela Ro.  At each visit Devin had to have an EKG & echo done.  He was also visited in our home weekly by one of St. Rita's home health nurses for regular check-ups the first few weeks home then just monthly for his Synagis shots. Toward the end of January we had to start traveling to Columbus once a week to keep a closer eye on Devin since his 2nd procedure was probably going to take place in the near future.

 The 2nd (Glenn) surgery was scheduled for March 7, 2008, but they ended up doing another echo that revealed it was better to do a cath procedure to place another stent where there was significant narrowing.  So the stent was placed & the 2nd stage surgery was postponed until Devin's heart could show better numbers.  Devin’s heart was very sick and he had a rough time recovering from the cath.  There were a few times we were afraid we would lose him, but we kept our faith and lifted our baby up in prayer continuously.  We were released from the hospital March 18, 2008.  That hospital stay was by far the worst we had ever seen Devin have to fight for his life.

We had pre-admission testing for the 2nd stage on April 8, 2008.  His surgery was first thing in the morning on April 9, 2008.  This 2nd stage was a combination of the Glenn & Norwood.  They removed all hardware from previous procedures and re-routed his blood flow.  His heart was on the bypass for about five hours.  The surgery went well and his heart started right back up.  He was quite swollen for a couple days.  He ended up staying in CICU until April 14, 2008 when he was moved to a regular room.  He recovered very well and was sent home on April 17, 2008.  How amazing to say our baby had full, blown-out open heart surgery and was only hospitalized for eight days!!!  We have a little fighter and he makes us so proud!  All of the prayers everyone sent his way were answered!

Devin had his fontan (the third & final stage) surgery on October 9, 2009.  He was 23 months old.  He did very well during the surgery and was only on bypass for two very short periods of time.  Devin did have a lot of drainage which is what kept us in the hospital so long.  He had a chest tube hooked to a drainage box that was a nuisance, but he was able to move around as long as an adult was following him with the box.  We were discharged October 21, 2009.  But after being home a couple days we noticed he was getting puffy and his torso was bulging so we went to a local hospital and had an emergency x-ray that revealed re-accumulation of fluids.  So we were re-admitted into C5 at Nationwide Children’s in Columbus that same day.  The chest tube was put back in and he drained the rest of the fluid.  He had to spend his 2nd Birthday in the hospital.  They did, however, let us go home for two days over the Halloween weekend with the tube in place and a small drainage box.  When we returned, they scheduled a cath to be done on November 3rd.  They didn't have to place a stent and his pressures looked good.  Dr. Cheatham did decide to go ahead and coil off some collaterals while he was in there.  We were discharged for good on November 4, 2009.  We had a few issues getting him off of the Diuril but adjustments were made and he was eventually taken off of it.  It's nice to have the staged surgeries behind us! 

The year 2010 flew by and only consisted of a few cardiologist appointments usually six months apart and a simple procedure to complete his circumcision.  Though we say “simple” it is anything but that for a heart child.  It involved a trip to Columbus’s surgical unit, a cardiac anesthesiologist, and much preparation.  Any simple procedure in Devin’s future will have to be handled with care.  This is something we are already accustomed to.

 2011 came and introduced a new member to the Stuttler family on March 31st—another baby boy named Jude.  Devin was thrilled to now have a big brother and a little brother and laughed at our jokes calling Devin the monkey in the middle.  We had a regular cardiologist check-up scheduled for May 24, 2011.  Devin's father took him because I was not able to leave work that day.  I was upset because I have never missed one of Devin’s appointments and felt terrible that I could not be there.  Later that afternoon, I received a call at work.  They found something in his fontan circuit that they believe to be a blood clot.  It is not affecting his flow or any numbers, but they ordered a CT scan for a later date to get a better look to confirm exactly what it is.  

In June we took Devin back to Columbus for a CT scan.  It ended up revealing a calcified blood clot.  The doctors feel it could have been there since shortly after his 2009 fontan surgery almost two years prior.  To be safe, they take him off of his aspirin and prescribe warfarin.  This required a blood draw to find his base line rate at which his blood naturally clots to determine the amount of warfarin he should take daily.  Once the base line rate is found, the medicine is prescribed then he only needs a finger *** to monitor his numbers once a month.  It took about a month to get his prescription right, but we made it and he only has to brave a short finger *** monthly.  However, his diet must avoid any foods high in vitamin K.  Foods such as leafy greens, mayonnaise, canola oil, many green vegetables, and several others are included, and Devin is the type of kid that actually loves those foods.  This has been rough for him in that aspect.  Devin's follow-up appointments have all revealed no change in the blood clot, which is good.
        
Devin also still has a moderate-severe leaky tricuspid valve which they will keep an eye on.  He's had this since birth so we're hoping it will last him many more years before a repair or replacement surgery is required.  So presently, we are watching his blood clot and tricuspid valve.  Though future procedures for Devin are guaranteed, we hope they are farther into the future so Devin has a few more years to be a normal kid.  We do not like our family torn apart during hospital stays and seeing Devin suffering or trying to painfully recover from yet another surgery.  We always have to prepare for the worst and pray for the best!  We never know when Devin’s heart will require medical attention, so we thank God for every day that he is with us and functioning well. 

Devin has inspired me to make more of an effort to make a difference.  I continually reach out to other heart families and offer information and updates on Devin through our family website.  In support of the American Heart Association, our team has walked at the Start! Heart Walk in Columbus each year since 2008 as team Devin & The Heartbreakers and I recently became Co-Coordinator/Media Coordinator for Mended Little Hearts of Columbus and have become a contact as a parent advocate for pulse oximetry advocacy for the state of Ohio.  This advocacy has put me in touch with some amazing people, and I hope I can be a part of making pulse oximetry screening on newborns mandatory in Ohio.  There are many others in support of this and it looks like we could see this happening soon for our state!

May has always been a favorite month.  The weather is warming.  The flowers are blooming.

May is also Stroke Awareness Month.  My family, as is true for many of you, has been personally impacted by stroke.  The science of stroke treatment has evolved and grown over the last couple of decades.  In fact, in 2006 at the International Stroke Conference, a paper was released that details all of the components of an effective stroke system of care.  It is time to bring those policy changes to Ohio residents.

As we welcome the blooming of the flowers, it is time for the Ohio General Assembly to restart stroke policy efforts.  Please join us in reminding them of the personal side of stroke and the importance of bringing research based policy solutions to our state!

Take a few minutes to respond to our current stroke alert!   With so many feeling the impact of stroke, consider sharing the alert on your social networks. By joining our voices, we can ensure Ohio Legislators address this critical issue. 

Lastly, consider sharing your experience with stroke (personally or as a family member.)  Click on the Share Your Story from the home page. These stories help us bring stroke statistics to life!

Did you know that the proportion of premature deaths from diseases of the heart is greatest among American Indians and Alaska Natives (36 percent) and blacks (31.5 percent) and lowest among whites (14.7 percent)?

This is why many of our advocacy activities are aimed at increasing awareness, educating lawmakers, promoting research, and improving quality and access to care to reduce disparities among women, minority populations and to improve every person’s overall health. This is why here in Ohio we are working to put health education standards in place that we help ensure every child is given a quality health education. This will allow the next generation of Ohioans to develop the essential skills necessary to adopt, practice, and maintain health-enhancing behaviors. To show your legislators that health education standards are important to you, please visit our Take Action center to send your supportive message today and encourage others to send a message through Facebook.