CPR Professionals

08/06/2025

When Sara was in middle school, she found a letter from a research hospital with a heartbreaking prognosis: Because of the heart defect she was born with – transposition of the great arteries – she probably wouldn’t live to 40.

Sara quickly shoved it back in the drawer and went up to her room. She never told anyone. The secret haunted her, but she continued living. She graduated high school, earned a college degree and launched a career, got married, and had a son, Max.

As her 40th birthday neared, her fear intensified. Was her time almost up?

She marked the birthday with a sushi dinner with her husband, Matt, and Max. After she was haunted by a new thought: Things are going to start going downhill from here.

A couple of months later, Sara was on a walk with a friend when she lost all feeling on the left side of her body. She couldn't speak. Sara knew she was having a stroke. Her friend dialed 911.

During open-heart surgery as a baby, she received a baffle, a surgically created structure within the heart that redirects blood flow. The baffle was leaking, allowing a blood clot to pass through and block an artery that supplies blood to the brain. Sara received an implanted device to close the baffle leak and was discharged within a few days. The stroke left no lasting physical issues.

Sara didn't just survive her long-expected brush with mortality. She came away from it thriving, embracing an entirely new outlook. She started seeing a therapist, which has helped her feel calmer and more productive. She wrote a children’s book, found a passion for light jogging, joined a weekly dance class and co-founded a company that makes disposable medical bras that support patient privacy and enhance the patient experience.

"Life has been full of many experiences that I never thought possible," Sara said. "The pride I have felt watching Max live such a beautifully unencumbered childhood has satisfied all of my curiosity of what feeling invincible looks like. Now I live in gratitude instead of fear."

08/06/2025

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women. Since 2004, Go Red for Women has worked to raise awareness, address clinical care and research gaps, and highlight the stories of inspiring survivors to help other women prioritize their health.

08/04/2025

Are you getting enough Vitamin D? A few minutes of sunlight on your skin provides vitamin D. skin. Just a few minutes a day on your hands and face should do the trick. But you can also get it from food. https://wb.md/3ZReSFR

08/04/2025

Healthy eating is important for everyone, but certain foods are especially good for issues that affect women. Here's what to put on your plate: https://wb.md/3UKCrNj

08/04/2025

Vitamin C it supports your immune system and helps your body use the iron you get from food. Find out sources for your daily dose of this essential nutrient. https://wb.md/45vmhxu

08/03/2025

Roy jolted awake in intense pain. It felt like someone was punching a hole through his chest and squeezing the life out of his heart. He woke up his wife, Kim. "I think I'm having a heart attack," he said.

It turned out to be something more serious. The wall of Roy's aorta, the main artery carrying blood away from the heart, had torn, a condition called aortic dissection. After a six-hour surgery in which doctors replaced a valve and the upper arch of his aorta, Roy was put in a medically induced coma for a week to allow his brain and body to recover more gently.

Doctors said several health factors could have contributed to the aortic dissection. But Roy, then 54, also was physically active. He trained and taught taekwondo, in which he held a fifth-degree black belt. He believes his fitness helped him survive.

Roy stayed in the hospital for a month, then attended cardiac rehabilitation. The sessions gave him the confidence to trust that he could be active again. He didn't return to taekwondo because the risks of being hit in the chest were too high. Instead, he started walking and riding a stationary bicycle.

Having shed 40 pounds since the dissection, Roy is now such an avid walker that he's entered many running events, "walking briskly" as much as 13.1 miles during half-marathons.

He leans into his experience as a coach, consultant, motivational speaker and author focused on the power of trust in personal and business settings. "Although I wouldn't wish it on anyone, I look at it as the best thing that ever happened to me. It's given me enlightenment, opportunity, insights and a chance to do the things I was put here to do."

08/01/2025

Reach out to us for heart healthy advice and your next cpr class! It’s never too late.

Most people don't know heart disease claims more lives in the U.S. than all forms of cancer and accidental deaths combined! 💔

Join the American Heart Association in the battle against this deadly disease. Your support helps power groundbreaking research and vital programs.

Be a champion for heart health. Donate today at spr.ly/6008N4ma0 and help save lives! ❤️

08/01/2025

For Carrie Lehtonen and two friends, a 60-mile bicycle ride in the Colorado Rockies was all in a day's fun. Sure, there would be pain involved, including burning lungs and aching muscles. That was to be expected.

Carrie’s heart attack was not.

The then-31-year-old cyclist and triathlete felt lightheaded and nauseous during the ride. Her shoulders and neck throbbed. During the final 10 miles, which were mostly downhill, she felt an odd pressure in her chest.

At a hospital, doctors performed several tests. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. The doctor returned and said, "I see you have a family history of heart disease."

Carrie hadn't even thought of that. Now that she considered it, her eyes filled with tears. Both her grandparents had heart problems, and her father had two heart attacks in his 40s. The doctor acted on her family history and ordered another blood test to check her heart.

Carrie had experienced a heart attack due to a blood clot in her coronary artery. "If you hadn't come in tonight, you wouldn't have been with us tomorrow," her cardiologist said.

After, Carrie made some important life changes.

"I realized that I really needed to get more control over my stress and my mind," she said. "I was a type A perfectionist who put a lot of pressure on myself and focused fully on my career. My near-death experience opened my eyes to the fact that I needed to change."

Carrie took on a less stressful job. She also trained to become a holistic health practitioner and yoga teacher. She transitioned to a vegan diet. She continues to cycle, mostly mountain biking, and enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing and paddleboarding.

"My heart history is always there in my mind, but I try to do the best I can to be as healthy as possible," she said.
She also makes sure that women know about heart disease.

"It's the No. 1 killer of all Americans, including women," she said. "Too many people die from heart disease, and I believe we can change that. I want to help others get off the hamster wheel and lead healthier and happier lives."

07/28/2025

We love what we do!

Here’s our fat old fred(seriously that is his name when you order this manikin) who makes training real while we practice and have some fun in our classes.

07/19/2025

Wherever 9-year-old Adeline goes, her AED is probably with her.

She was born with a long QT syndrome, a condition that could cause her heart to malfunction at any moment. The automated external defibrillator could save her life.

Adeline's parents, Alessandra and Aaron Dinin, learned about the heart problem on the day Adeline was born. A week later, she had surgery. Adeline has lived a mostly ordinary life, except for the AED, and her mission to raise awareness on social media.

Adeline enjoys creating content for her more than 4,000 followers at http://spr.ly/61894MY71. In one video post, she dances near an AED with the caption, "Wait, do you know where an AED is?"

"I love making the dance videos," Adeline said.

"It's to increase awareness about long QT syndrome, to get people thinking about AEDs and notice them, and to encourage people to get CPR trained," Alessandra said. "We've been contacted by people from all over the world and we try to help as best as we can."

Adeline doesn't know if her social media posts have directly led to any lives being saved. But she does know that her heart condition made a difference in one life – her dad's.

"Aaron had this condition all along, and he hadn't been treated," Alessandra said. "Adeline was essentially her dad's guardian angel."

Aaron and Adeline's devices and medicines give the family peace of mind. Every day, the Dinins are grateful for Adeline's team.

"If she hadn't been diagnosed right away, we could have found her one day in her crib not breathing," Alessandra said. "We were so fortunate she got diagnosed on day one of her life so we have the infrastructure in place to keep her safe."

07/19/2025

These key factors – called Life’s Essential 8 – can help improve cardiovascular health.

🥗 Eat healthy
🏃 Move more
🚭 Quit to***co
🛌 Get healthy sleep
✅ Manage weight
✅ Control cholesterol
✅ Manage blood sugar
✅ Manage blood pressure

07/17/2025

Barbara Collura couldn't understand why she became breathless and sweaty simply from climbing the stairs to a balcony at a concert.

She ran regularly, ate a healthy diet and had no serious medical issues. Climbing stairs never bothered her before. Why was it a problem now?

The next day, she was again short of breath. And now she also had pain in her upper back as well as her left arm and jaw. The day after that, she felt a burning sensation that radiated from the center of her chest.

She knew she needed to get to an emergency room. Those were symptoms of a heart attack.

At the ER, tests revealed nothing out of the ordinary. She let the staff know about her family history of heart disease, but she was sent home.

The symptoms worsened so she saw a cardiologist the next day. He reviewed the testing done from the day before and attributed her symptoms to anxiety.

That night, the pain returned. She called her sister, a complex care coordinator in a hospital emergency room, who told her to go back to the ER and "cause a ruckus."

There tests revealed that she'd had a heart attack. An artery in her heart was 99% blocked. A stent was inserted into the artery to restore blood flow.

Barbara went home soon after and was essentially told to keep up her existing exercise routine. She requested cardiac rehabilitation but was told the program was for people who didn't previously exercise.

She sought a second opinion from doctors at another hospital. Once again, her self-advocacy paid off.

Further testing showed that Barbara had elevated levels of lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), a type of cholesterol that is genetically determined and can increase the risk for heart disease and stroke if levels are raised. She's now part of a drug trial to see if she can lower that number and, hopefully, lower her risk.

"I can't control my family history, but I can control my risk factors.”