Tobacco prevention and education work has been a significant focus point in my life for the past eight years. Some of my close family members and friends became addicted to nicotine at a very young age. Seeing them cough until vomiting, having trouble breathing, and using any means to feed their addiction had a powerful…Read More…

Tori Lane Kiser is a 17-year-old senior at Cabot High School in Cabot, Arkansas. She’s been involved with the advocacy work of the American Heart Association for three years and continues to commit her time and energy to community service with both the AHA and Special Olympics. In her own words: “I first got involved…Read More…

As a longtime volunteer-advocate, Monte Curnutt has helped secure key legislative successes around tobacco taxes, telephone-CPR, e-cigarette taxes, minority health initiatives and telehealth. to name just a few.   Monte regularly takes time out of his busy schedule, often on short notice during Indiana’s busy legislative session, to call his lawmakers, submit letters-to-the-editor, serve as a spokesperson on…Read More…

I’ve been a CPR and First Aid Instructor for more than 45 years, but never expected that the CPR skills I taught others would go on to save my own life. My mother had a heart attack many years ago, which led me to become a CPR instructor in 1976. I was then asked to…Read More…

Stroke entered my world on July 10, 2018. As a clinical pharmacist, working in stroke research and medical affairs, I traveled extensively to meetings and conferences within Florida and nationally. My sister, Pam, was my right hand at home with my kids and our 84-year-old mom, who had moved in with us. Pam was always…Read More…

The American Stroke Association recently honored stroke survivors, health care professionals and caregivers from across the country. We’re excited to introduce Mark Matasic of Campbell, Ohio, as our 2021 Stroke Caregiver Award recipient. For a gut-wrenching year, Mark Matasic cared for his dad after a severe brain stem stroke left him completely paralyzed. After his…Read More…

Moving from elementary school to middle school was a big jump for me. Feeling like a small fish in the big pond made everything new and intimidating. Though, I was especially confused at the prevalence of the thin rectangle-shaped products that I would soon find out to be Juul pods. Every time I would enter…Read More…

Youth advocates play a key role in advocacy. Noah Rich, an advocate and senior at Towson High School, has been a You’re the Cure advocate for three years, working on state issues, attending Federal Lobby Day with his friends, and speaking up about tobacco issues that were important to him. Noah has learned the power…Read More…

In 2019, Abigail (Abby) Davis was named the American Heart Association’s National Youth Advocate of the Year, an award she received at the annual Hero’s Awards Dinner in conjunction with You’re the Cure on the Hill Day in Washington, D.C.   Abby has been involved with You’re the Cure for years, writing a blog shared…Read More…

Meet Nicole Murray, stroke survivor, health advocate and one of the newest members of our Indiana AHA Advocacy Committee. When Nicole Murray finished a grueling, two-and-a-half-hour hike to the top of the mountain in Hawaii, she burst into tears, overwhelmed by her feat after surviving two strokes just two years earlier. Visit this link to…Read More…