Remarkable Success

Each summer at the American Heart Association, we pause to reflect on all we've accomplished over a year. You're the Cure advocates are working hard, and they're truly changing their communities for the better!

In the past year, our volunteers, staff and partners helped pass 74 state and local laws or regulations that help Americans enjoy longer, healthier lives, free of heart disease and stroke. Here are a few highlights of the exciting progress we've made together:

• More than 400,000 people gained access to health insurance coverage through the expanded Medicaid program in 2 states. Advocates are hard at work to increase access in the remaining 19 states that have yet to expand their Medicaid programs.
• Four states and Washington, D.C. passed measures to screen infants for critical congenital heart defects — meaning an additional 208,000 babies in those states and more than 1 million babies across the country will be screened each year. The simple, inexpensive, lifesaving pulse oximetry test is now required in 45 states.
• States, cities, counties and communities across the country dedicated funding to enhance roadways that make it safer and easier for more than 21.2 million people to walk and ride bicycles.
• New York City approved more than $9 million in funding for physical education, impacting more than 416,000 elementary school students in the city.
• Thanks to laws passed this year requiring CPR training in 10 states and a handful of large counties or school districts, more than 740,000 additional students will graduate from high school with the skills to save lives. This brings the total to more than 2 million students in 35 states who will be trained in CPR every year before high school graduation!

I hope you'll take a moment this summer to truly appreciate the impact you're making on our communities as a You're the Cure advocate. Success this big deserves a celebration!