We are excited for you to meet one of our top advocates from Georgia, Suhaas Reddy Bonkur and learn what motivates him as an advocate.   Hello everyone! I am Suhaas Reddy Bonkur, a first-year student at the Georgia Institute of Technology studying a major in Biology and minoring in computer science. I am interested…Read More…

Sreyas Yennampelli is a senior Emory University undergraduate double majoring in neuroscience and political philosophy. Along with future career aspirations in medicine, he is interested in the relationship between healthcare and policy. Sreyas is passionate about advocating for those who must have their voice heard and ultimately promoting change, often by empowering the youth of…Read More…

On October 28th, 2022, I had the great honor of representing the American Heart Association as an invited speaker for the “Yes on 31” press conference in Oakland, California. This November, general election ballots posed an important question to California voters- should we, as a state, ban the sale of flavored tobacco products? The “Yes…Read More…

Catherine Czaja didn’t expect her life to take the trajectory it has.   She grew up in Chicago and lived more than 20 years in New York City, working as a professional dancer in off-Broadway shows, Cirque du Soleil and running a model and talent agency. But she met her husband, Danny, on a cross-country…Read More…

When Tucker Varns was 3 days old his parents rushed him to the emergency room. After hours of tests in their hometown in South Dakota, they found out that Tucker was born without his lower left ventricle of his heart. He had his first heart surgery when he was 11 days old, and since then…Read More…

It’s amazing how one moment can change the trajectory of your life. For Steve Hilfiker of Florida, it happened in 2019 when he received an unexpected diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis, commonly described as the heart turning to stone.   Surprisingly, Steve had the disease for five years and was in stage C heart failure. Steve…Read More…

Advocates who have seen firsthand the impacts of heart health play a key role in demonstrating the impacts of policies which support longer, healthier lives.   Shuron Abdullah is an advocate in Maryland who has been a relentless force for good since joining You’re the Cure. Shuron is a Retired Respiratory Therapy professional with 32…Read More…

It was a bright and sunny morning at my children’s elementary school here in San Diego, California. As was the custom, many parents, myself included, were rushing to drop off their kids, give them a hug and a kiss, and wish them a great day. I revel in embarrassing my son and daughter, as any…Read More…

American Heart Association advocate Jaelene Luper is an Instructor for the National Cheerleaders Association and a face you may have seen on the Netflix docuseries, “Cheer.” Having dealt with food insecurity briefly as a child, she has made it her personal mission to combat the hunger crisis in her community. After receiving the Lyrical Activist…Read More…

The physicians said during my first of five brain surgeries that it was unlikely that I would survive, and if I did, I likely would not be able to speak, move, read, or write ever again. At the age of 30, I suffered a massive ischemic stroke. I was trapped inside of my own body,…Read More…