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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.

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.

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

Recently U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler issued a decision ordering the tobacco industry to publish corrective statements that the industry lied about smoking’s health effects. The decision also requires the tobacco industry to fully disclose the dangers of smoking in advertisements and packaging.  

The tobacco industry’s continuous deception has misled the public about the health implications of smoking for far too long. This deceptive marketing has included false claims about ‘light’ or ‘low-tar’ cigarettes. Judge Kessler’s decision will finally require that the industry own up to their misdeeds.  Along with deceptive marketing tactics, the industry spent over $50 million to defeat our recent effort to increase the tobacco tax in California.  

The decision corrects a long-standing history of tobacco industry deception, and will have an immediate impact on tobacco use across all ages. The advent of corrective statements and our renewed tobacco tax efforts, gives our volunteers and survivors a real chance to save lives.

- Lindsay Williams, Grassroots Advocacy Director

This Thanksgiving holiday, we want to thank our You’re the Cure grassroots advocates for helping us fulfill the American Heart Association’s mission of building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." -- Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.*

Please open our e-card to see how you are making a difference.

Thank you for caring an awful lot. Happy Thanksgiving!

*The AHA partnered with The Lorax earlier this year to bring Teaching Gardens to youth in Los Angeles.

Smoke-free laws lead to significantly fewer hospitalizations and deaths for heart attacks and strokes, according to new research published in the current issue of the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

• Smoke-free policies that apply in workplaces, restaurants and bars have the greatest effect on hospitalizations, reduce health care costs and better quality of life.
• Laws that include exemptions in spaces like bars are not as effective.
• The more comprehensive smoke-free laws save lives and money.

The American Heart Association advocates for comprehensive smoke-free air policies at the local, state and federal levels. Learn more about tobacco control and prevention advocacy and if smoking has impacted your life, please tell us about it. 

Feel free to share your thoughts on smoke-free laws by leaving a comment below.

On Sunday, we were with some of the world’s top leaders in cardiovascular disease at Scientific Sessions in Los Angeles, CA. Each year experts from around the world gather at the AHA’s Scientific Sessions to share their latest breakthroughs in cardiovascular disease diagnosis and treatment.

Have you received a pacemaker or drug-eluting stent? Has a loved one been saved by CPR? Have you ever taken medication to lower your cholesterol or blood pressure? Life-saving treatments like these have been discovered by researchers funded by the American Heart Association.

Research matters to each and every one of us. Take Action: Share how research has changed your life. Here’s how:

1. Go to the research page of our Key Issues.
2. In the “Share Your Story” box on the right side, type how heart and stroke medical advances have affected you.
3. Click SUBMIT.

Your story will help us advocate for policies that support heart and stroke prevention and treatment studies.