North Carolina
Local North Carolinians head to nation’s capital to advocate for stronger chain of survival
American Heart Association advocates from across the country were in Washington, D.C. May 22nd and 23rd to ask Congress to support legislation that would improve the chain of survival in elementary and secondary schools. The advocates, including cardiac arrest survivors, families who have lost a loved one and health care providers, are part of the American Heart Association’s national grassroots network, www.youarethecure.org
During their meetings on Capitol Hill, fellow advocates for NC shared their personal stories and urge elected officials to swiftly pass the Cardiomyopathy Health Education, Awareness, Research and Training in the Schools Act or HEARTS Act (H.R. 6829) and the Access to AEDs Act (S. 1024), the former of which was approved unanimously by the House Energy and Commerce Committee in March.
The group emphasized the need for comprehensive legislation, such as the HEARTS Act and Access to AEDs Act, to support CPR and AED training in K-12 schools, enable the purchase of AEDs for use in schools, foster new and existing community partnerships to promote the importance of defibrillation in schools and create cardiac emergency response plans, which can help reduce death from cardiac arrest in school settings.
Cardiovascular Emergency Response Plans
The Greater Charlotte Community Impact Team has been busy engaging regional school systems and companies with resources to build Cardiovascular Emergency Response Plans. Irini McCarthy represented the AHA at the Iredell SHAC (School Health Advisory Committee) and shared our focus on building a Nation of Lifesavers. With input from the AHA, Iredell School System recently completed a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP) for five school district buildings, as well as tailored a plan for each of the 40 schools.
Bringing nutrition & change to High Point
The American Heart Association’s Simple Cooking with Heart program, made possible by The Earl & Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation, completed eight different six-class series of healthy cooking classes at five different locations in food insecure areas of High Point. One hundred and nine participants graduated from classes, receiving skills, tools and healthy meals to share with their families. High Point youth also received 4000 servings of fruits and vegetables in collaboration with Simple Cooking with Heart, the Power of Produce program and High Point Mobile Library.
Featured Recipe: Indian-Spiced Pumpkin-Apple Soup
Add warmth to your tummy with this delicious soup full of fall fruits! It’s a perfect light lunch or side dish on a cold day.
Statewide health initiative set to improve chronic disease risk factors
The American Heart Association and Novant Health announce a three-year health equity initiative to reduce heart disease and stroke risk factors by improving blood pressure and nutrition security in communities spanning the Charlotte, Piedmont, Triad and Cape Fear regions.
NC Companies Receive National Recognition for Employee Wellness
The American Heart Association's Well-being Works Better™ Scorecard recognizes companies which implement practices that focus on the health and overall well-being of their employees. We are excited to recognize these North Carolina companies and their efforts to build a culture of health for their employees.
Featured recipe: Tuscan-Style Grilled Chicken Kebabs
Tired of burgers & hot dogs? The #NC grilling season is far from over! Try these grilled chicken-and-vegetable kebabs with the flavors of sunny Tuscany.
Give Thanks Today with 2X Impact
Thanks to medical breakthroughs funded by the American Heart Association – and donors like you – many families have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season.
Many more families still need your help – heart disease is our nation’s leading cause of death. Give today and your donation will be DOUBLED to support pioneering research, education and prevention programs and more.
Events in Your Area
Triangle Heart Ball
Location: Raleigh Convention Center
Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025 - 06:00 PM
Learn MoreIn Your Community
The American Heart Association is committed to driving equitable health impact in North Carolina through five key priority areas: women, readiness, tobacco and vaping, patients, and healthy living. Equity is always at the center of our work, and it will continue to guide all that we do.
Through our focus on these key impact areas, and with collaboration among local organizations, sponsors, businesses, and others that serve the community, we are working to improve the health and well-being of North Carolina citizens while saving and improving countless lives.
Throughout the state of North Carolina, we’ve seen our community impact work grow, including efforts around creating avenues for greater access to care, expanding healthy food access and education, building a network of first responders through CPR kits in schools, supporting blood pressure screenings and education, and educating on the dangers of tobacco and vaping.
People are counting on us as never before. We at the American Heart Association, along with our supporters, will drive change, and we will be relentless.
Advocacy has had a mission-critical role in the Association's work for more than 40 years. Our legislative and regulatory priorities help to mitigate risk factors and protect survivors in communities across the country. We support the enactment of evidence-based public policies that lead to longer, healthier lives.
Public policy advocacy is an essential strategy used by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to affect necessary and sustainable policy, system and environmental changes that help Americans build healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
The American Heart Association's Hair, Heart & Health program is expanding to barbershops and beauty salons in Caswell County.
For the past three years, this program has collaborated with salons and barbershops throughout the Triad, making health conversations in the barber’s chair even more possible. At participating salons and shops, staff have been trained, blood pressure checks are being encouraged, and stylists and barbers are engaging their clients with accurate, heart health information to help reduce risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
According to the American Heart Association, over half of Black adults have high blood pressure, with high blood pressure developing earlier in Black Americans and often being more severe. Black Americans also have a higher prevalence of stroke and the highest death rate from stroke. Increased prevalence of high blood pressure, increased overweight and obesity rates, and increased prevalence of diabetes, makes the focus of this awareness, education and preventative program so vital.
“Barbershops are pillars in the neighborhood and imperative to the education of our people. We encourage our neighbors to come in, sit and talk about everything related to having a healthy family,” shared Derek Brooks, Owner of Gentleman’s Grooming Lounge in Winston-Salem.
“For the past few years, I have been focused on living a more health conscious lifestyle for myself and my family. I am intentional about my heart-healthy lifestyle and share any helpful information I can to bring forth awareness. I converse with so many clients from different walks of life, but the one thing we all have in common is the desire to live a long, heart-healthy life. If any of my knowledge and experiences can help the next person, I'm ready to share it,” said Jermaine Foster, Owner of Supreme Legacy Barbershop in Winston-Salem.
For barbershops and salons in Caswell County that are interested in participating in the Hair, Heart & Health program, contact: Jennifer Graziano, Senior Community Impact Director at [email protected].
Made possible by:
Are you doing your part to keep the Queen City healthy? Healthy Charlotte, a popular coalition of leaders and organizations dedicated to the health and wellbeing of our city, is back in action and we need your help! Learn about the “refresh” of this important initiative and how you can get involved in improving your health and the health of your friends, family and workforce.
Chair
Gary Michel
Community Volunteer
President
Sherry Saxonhouse, M.D.
Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, Atrium Health
Leadership Development Chair
Stacy Gray
Weisiger Group
Board Members
Sandy Charles, MD
Novant Health
Denise Coleman
Norsan Media
Le Roy Davis
Mike Desmond
Grant Thornton
Erika Duncan
Bank of America
Jamie Ergle
Cushman & Wakefield
Shaina Hall
Belk
Lynn Hansen
Crowder Constructors
Ty Jeffers
SPX Flow
David Legrand
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
Chuck Munn
Harris Teeter
Nancy McNelis
Amy Roberts
Jerry A. Saunders, M.D., Ph.D
Amity Medical Group
Dan Soto
Ally Financial
Raynard Washington, Ph.D.
Mecklenburg County
Angela Yochem
2022 – 2023 Campaign Chairs
Greater Charlotte Heart Challenge
Dan Soto
Ally Financial
Brian Weisker
Natural Gas Business Unit Duke Energy
Heart Of Charlotte / Heart Ball
Melany Arjona & Vicente Reynal
Ingersoll Rand
Go Red For Women
Kimberly Moore-Wright
Truist
Janice Dupre
Lowe’s Corporation, Inc.
Chairman
Brad Roehrenbeck
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Past Chairman
Vern Hawkins
Syngenta North America Crop Protection
President
Cynthia Williams Brown, Ph.D.
Winston-Salem State University
Leadership Development Chair
David Daggett
Daggett Shuler, Attorneys at Law
Board Members
Suzie Burrow
Piedmont Federal Bank
Alison Ashe-Card
Duke University School of Law
Debra Diz, Ph.D.
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist,
Hypertension & Vascular Research
Ruth Fisher
Cone Health System
Julia Hyett
Novant Health
Sandy & Lafayette Jones
SMSi Urban Call Marketing,
SMSi Healthy Living Solutions, Inc.
Stephen Powell, M.D.
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Forsyth County Emergency Services
Richard Spangler
Alex Brown, a Division of Raymond James
Sherita Eastmon Sutton, MPH, MSW, CHESM.D., MPH
Forsyth County Department of Public Health
Iulia VannM.D., MPH
Guilford County
P. Kevin Williamson
Kinetic
2024 - 2025 Campaign Chairs
Heart of the Triad / Triad Heart Ball Chair
Matthew Belford, M.D.
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Triad Heart Challenge Chair
Preston Hammock
Cone Health
Triad Executives with Heart Chair
Robert Braiman
Cogent Analytics
Triad Go Red for Women Chair
Sowmya Lakshminarayanan, M.D.
Novant Health
Chairperson
Tiffany Gholston
Gholston Consulting Group LLC
President
Christopher Kelly, M.D, MS, FACC.
North Carolina Heart & Vascular
Leadership Development Chairperson
Katelyn Petti Hokenberg
Board Members
Peter Benton
Worldwide Clinical Trials
Calvin Crosslin
Lenovo and Lenovo Foundation
Wayne Feng, M.D., FAHA
Duke Health
Deana Labriola
Fox Rothschild, LLP
Bob Myer
SKANSKA USA Building
Neha Pagidipati, M.D., MPH
Duke Heart/Duke Clinical Research Institute
Terri L. Phillips, M.D.
Merz Aesthetics
Kristen Soler
Advance Auto Parts
Trevor Upham, M.D.
WakeMed Heart & Vascular
2024-2025 Campaign Chairpersons
2025 Triangle Heart Ball Chairperson
Antwan Lofton
Duke University
2024 Triangle Heart Challenge Chairperson
Mark Morelli
Vontier
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Charlotte, NC 28217
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