CVD Prevention

Being a healthy living advocate wasn’t always the plan for Prince George’s County resident and You’re the Cure advocate Dionne Bush. But when she was in her mid-20’s and feeling the stress of being a single mother, she decided she needed to change her lifestyle choices. She became involved in personal training, group exercise classes, and started to eat healthier. Now 50-years-young, Dionne is a health, safety, and wellness educator who is committed to teaching others about corrective exercises, healthy eating choices, and how to recognize the signs of heart attack, stroke, and anaphylactic shock. She has also raised her now 23-year-old son to advocate healthy living. 

The Closer to My Grocer campaign recently released a video about food access in Virginia. The video addresses the consequences of limited access and how the Virginia Grocery Investment Fund can shore up healthy food retail in urban and rural communities across Virginia.

"There are far too many places in the state of Virginia where it is easier for a person to get a Twinkie, versus a banana or an apple. That is tough to swallow."                     - Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Todd Haymore

My name is Andrea Witte and I’m 20 years old and a junior at the University of Nevada, Reno studying biology on the pre-medical track. I was born in Anchorage, Alaska to two healthy wonderful parents Mary and John. Since birth, my parents and both my maternal and paternal Grandmother thought something wasn’t quite right. Both grandmothers commented on how I was “very tall and floppy.” At their urging, my parents took me from doctor to doctor, who all said “you have a very tall baby, but she is just fine.” That was until I was 18 months old when my Grandmother read an article on Marfan Syndrome while visiting Stanford Hospital and Clinics and sent the article to my parents. She urged us to ask the doctors to rule out Marfan Syndrome even though all the dominant features of Marfan fit. After a battery of tests in Anchorage in 1998, including an eye exam and an echocardiogram, I was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome. 

On Election Day, it is easy to ignore the questions at the bottom of your ballot. 

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke. Stroke can lead to permanent disability, or even death, if not treated in time. Shockingly enough, 80% of strokes are preventable. The number one risk factor for stroke is hypertension, or high blood pressure. Blood pressure can be controlled through healthy diet and exercise. This World Stroke Day we’re looking at the importance of healthy food access to preventing stroke.

The last thing I remember of my poetry residency at Colleton County Middle School was getting an elevator key.  The next thing was seeing a strange ceiling, which turned out to be in an intensive care unit, over a week later.

Over twenty five years ago, I was working as a boat captain on the Long Island Sound. It was a beautiful summer day around dusk when someone collapsed near me on the dock I was operating. This man was turning blue, and after being frozen with fear I did the only thing I knew to do which was to run for help.