Washington, DC - Hundreds of cardiovascular disease patients, survivors, caregivers, researchers and others from across the country descended on Washington, D.C. this week to ask their elected representatives to “pave the path forward” for policies that lead to longer, healthier lives.
The advocates are volunteers of the American Heart Association, the world’s leading voluntary organization focused on heart and brain health, who traveled to the nation’s capital for the association’s biennial “You’re the Cure on the Hill.”
The volunteers urged their Members of Congress to
- Pass legislation to remove flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars and menthol cigarettes, from the market.
- Pass legislation to protect patients from financially crippling surprise medical bills.
- Continue our nation’s commitment to cures and support a $2.5 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health in FY 2020.
The volunteers were joined by American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown and Susan Lucci, the Emmy-award-winning actress, television host, New York Times bestselling author and entrepreneur best known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama All My Children from 1970 to 2011. In the fall of 2018, Lucci suddenly experienced chest discomfort caused by two blocked cardiac arteries. That night, she had an emergency procedure to place two arterial stents in her heart. She is now a National Ambassador for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women.