From My Heart To Yours

Hello,

The reason for my reaching out to you is because not to long ago I celebrated a very special and important day in my life. Eight years ago (October 8, 2009)  I had experienced a “life changing” event. This is something that I could never imagine having happen to me, but it did. 

On October 8, 2009 I died and came back from an Aortic Dissection that has a less than 1% survival rate. Yes, less than 1%! You are probably sitting and asking yourself why would I be sharing my story with you and so I will tell you why. By the way, this is the same thing that killed Actors John Ritter and Alan Thicke as well as the many others that we do not hear about.

I, with hundreds of others will be walking in this year’s American Heart Association’s 2017 Heart Walk in Washington, DC. I am coming to you to ask for your support as I work to raise money for this horrible disease. Heart Disease, like many diseases does not discriminate. It does not matter how old you are, how healthy you are, how sedentary your job is…it just does not matter.  In my travels and conversations, I have met people who have been impacted by this disease in one way or another and I am happy to say that I am one of the few who had not only died, but came back for round two…WOOHOO!!! Yes, I am one of the lucky ones, but there are many who have not been so lucky. So this is where your help is so desperately needed.

Did you know that about every 40 seconds, an American has a heart attack, and almost 15 percent of those heart attacks are fatal. As the leading cause of death in the U.S., heart disease has been the subject of thousands of studies in the last several decades, and breakthroughs in the last 50 years have been significant.

First, diet, exercise, and smoking cessation were all proven to play an enormous role in heart health, helping physicians guide patients to less risky lifestyle choices.

Then, in the 1980s, the first commercial statin was approved by the FDA, ushering in an era in which medication could be used alongside lifestyle changes to lower cholesterol levels, potentially reducing heart attack risk by over a third for some high risk patients.

Despite these gains and the fact that statins are one of the most frequently prescribed drugs, heart disease is still the number one killer of Americans, but researchers are excited about the results of a study published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine that investigates the impact of a new drug on cardiovascular risk.

If you would take the time to go to my page by copying the link below into your browser    https://www2.heart.org/goto/maryanne425   and support me with whatever you feel comfortable in giving (it could even be a dollar) I would be sincerely grateful. If you would share my story with others and motivate others to also give you would not even begin to understand how much that would mean.

Living with Heart Disease is not fun. Even though it has been 8 years I still have challenging days. Stress, weather, overdoing it all impact how I feel and it can be exhausting…but despite all of my challenges, I feel that it is my obligation to do what I can do to make folks aware and to try and make a difference in getting us closer to finding a cure.

In closing I would like to thank you for your kindness and support. Heart Disease will not magically disappear, but when we all come together we can make magical things happen! Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart and have a wonderful day.

With Warmest Regards,

Maryanne