Advocate Spotlight: Hailey Yentz

As a Division I athlete at East Carolina University, Hailey Yentz was focused on school, sports, and her future. Everything changed when she suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during a workout. Thanks to quick-thinking athletic trainers who immediately recognized the emergency, started CPR, and used a nearby AED, Hailey survived.

In the months that followed, Hailey was diagnosed with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), a heart condition she never knew she had. She had to step away from the sport she loved and adjust to life with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). While the experience changed her life, it also gave her a new sense of purpose.

When Hailey learned about efforts to improve cardiac emergency preparedness in schools, she knew she wanted to help. She shared her story with lawmakers, spoke at a press conference, and joined other survivors, families, physicians, and advocates who were working toward the same goal: giving others the same chance at survival that she had.

Today, Hailey advocates because she knows firsthand how important it is to be prepared before a cardiac emergency happens. Her message to new advocates is simple: you don’t have to be an expert to make a difference. Your story matters, and your voice can help create change.