Meet Paul Witinski - CT Advocate

I’m new to the American Heart Association, but not to its mission or the impact that heart health has on lives.

Like many people, my awareness of heart disease was triggered by personal sadness when, a few years ago, my father died unexpectedly of a heart attack. My children will never have the chance to really know my father, and I want them to have a way to recognize the impact he had on me, so I sought out an opportunity to get more involved in heart health.

Many charitable causes require sacrifices between better outcomes and higher costs. What I love about the AHA is that it’s mission and initiatives are a win-win. Better heart health doesn’t have any tradeoffs: the same preventive initiatives that can improve the quality of life for millions of people also reduce the cost of healthcare to society. These benefits are so enormous, so strongly supported by both evidence and common sense, that I believe success is a matter of getting the right message to the right people at the right time. For that reason, I’m thrilled to be part of the CT Advocacy Committee, as well as a constituent contact, which allows me to directly convey AHA’s health messages to my state representative and senator to push for change.