American Heart Association announces first-ever Life is Why sponsorship in Wisconsin with ThedaCare

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Dec 12, 2018, 07:13 ET

APPLETON, Wis., Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Heart Association (AHA) announces ThedaCare, an Appleton-based community health system, as the first Life is Why sponsor in Wisconsin.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, cardiovascular disease took the lives of more than 11,000 Wisconsinites in 2016 alone. The sponsorship, reaching the ThedaCare service area including the Fox Valley, provides support to the American Heart Association's mission: to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.

"We appreciate the opportunity to help educate the public about heart health and the potentially life-saving choices people can make every day," said Imran A. Andrabi, MD, President and CEO of ThedaCare. "Our "why" is putting our patients and their loved ones first. We are dedicated to serving Northeast and Central Wisconsin and sponsoring the American Heart Association's Life is Why program is another vital way we can advance our mission of improving the health of the communities we serve."

Heart disease is the second leading cause of death in Wisconsin and stroke is the number three killer in Wisconsin. Focus throughout this three-year sponsorship will be on creating a culture of health for residents of the Fox Valley area. The American Heart Association's work is centered around changing policy, leading breakthroughs in science and technology, changing systems, transforming healthcare and transforming communities.

Here are just a few ways residents in the Fox Valley and beyond will see the Life is Why commitment in the community:

Promote employee wellness in local workplaces
Instill heart-healthy habits in kids through the American Heart Association's Kids Heart Challenge in more than a dozen local schools
Distribute 100 CPR Anytime kits in the community and train residents in the life-saving skill of CPR
Community-wide education and awareness on a variety of health and wellness topics.

Life is Why is a national brand element which emphasizes an emotional connection to the work of the AHA. The campaign encourages people of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds to consider what or who they are living for and turn that into their personal motivation for making lifestyle changes that add up to healthier, happier and longer lives with the ones they love.

For more on Life is Why, visit www.heart.org/lifeiswhy.

SOURCE American Heart Association