Giving Tuesday Series: American Heart Association

For the second part of our Giving Tuesday series, we are highlighting the American Heart Association! The AHA is a persevering force for a world of healthier, longer lives. They are dedicated to ensuring equitable health in every community. Through continued collaboration with countless organizations, and the generous participation of millions of volunteers, they fund innovative research, advocate for public health and share lifesaving resources.

As the leading global public health organization, the AHA is asking people to donate to support the 121 million heart disease and stroke patients who may be at higher risk of severe illness including hospitalization, admission to the ICU, being placed on a ventilator or death due to COVID-19.

The following groups of people may face increased risk for serious complications if they become infected with COVID-19:

1. Stroke survivors
2. People with high blood pressure
3. People with type 2 diabetes
4. Smokers
5. People with heart disease (including coronary artery disease and heart failure)
6. People with underlying cardiovascular disease

The AHA has served communities with a swift and robust response to COVID-19 by funding scientific research, supporting essential frontline health care workers, and helping communities navigate the challenges presented by COVID-19 from food security to care access.

Generous donors, the AHA’s staff and their volunteer force have accomplished the following since their initial response to COVID-19:

1. Established 21 rapid research grants totaling $2.5 million to fast-track scientific research to better understand COVID-19 and its interaction with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
   
2. Offered supplemental funding grants to the Association’s new Health Technologies & Innovation Strategically Focused Research Network centers to create new technology-based solutions for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
   
3. Developed interim CPR guidelines to help rescuers and first-responders safely treat cardiac arrest victims with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19.
   
4. Made oxygenation and ventilation courses available free to healthcare providers who need them in the global fight against COVID-19.
   
5. Urged lawmakers at the federal and state levels to ensure all families have access to care, including guaranteed free coronavirus testing.
   
6. Stood up the first CVD COVID-19 patient registry to allow researchers to collect critical data elements that may provide insights to the treatment and track adverse cardiovascular outcomes for this new disease.
   
7. Powered by the Association’s successful Get With The Guidelines® hospital quality improvement program, the multi-center registry focuses on granular data collection from centers that routinely test biomarkers in adult COVID-19 patients.
   
8. Supported local organizations that are addressing social determinants of health, including investees of the Association’s Social Impact Fund.
   
9. Launched a call- to-action campaign urging individuals not to die of doubt but to call 911 or visit a hospital in times of emergency regardless of the pandemic.

To help the American Heart Association continue to make an impact, donate now at heart.org. Get the latest American Heart Association information and recommendation on COVID-19 here.