AstraZeneca and Bob Harper Team Up to Expand Survivors Have Heart Movement
Uniting Floridians to empower the local heart attack survivor community
After surviving a heart attack, the initial focus is often on physical recovery. However, the emotional journey can be just as impactful and sometimes more difficult with deep feelings of vulnerability, fear and isolation that may come as part of the healing process.
To help inspire and educate heart attack survivors through this challenging journey, AstraZeneca and Bob Harper, a health and fitness expert, best-selling author and heart attack survivor, partnered together to expand Survivors Have Heart, a national movement launched in 2017 that uses the power of patient stories to unite heart attack survivors nationwide and elevate the importance of daily heart health management. The program’s expansion in 2019 will include new online communities, heart healthy tips and resources for survivors by survivors and a local community tour. The tour will kick off with a stop in Tampa, Florida on June 5, 2019.
As part of the Survivors Have Heart evolution, AstraZeneca unveiled MySurvivorStory.com that provides local heart attack survivors the opportunity to share their story for the chance to be selected to attend exclusive story-sharing events with Bob Harper and other survivors in Tampa, FL; Charlotte, NC; and San Antonio, TX. Each event will offer an intimate sit-down conversation with Harper and fellow survivors, as well as uniquely curated experiences that celebrate survivorship.
“
I learned to focus on my recovery, listen to my body and my healthcare team to focus on getting myself back to health, and through Survivors Have Heart, I hope to inspire others to do the same.
”
“I thought I was doing everything right and never thought that a heart attack could happen to me. Yet my world was turned upside down,” said Harper, who was the picture of health, having worked in the fitness industry for more than 20 years and hosted NBC’s The Biggest Loser before his heart attack in February 2017. “I learned to focus on my recovery, listen to my body and my healthcare team to focus on getting myself back to health, and through Survivors Have Heart, I hope to inspire others to do the same.”
The Survivors Have Heart initiative will also partner with cardiovascular patient advocacy organizations, healthcare providers, policymakers and other community leaders in each stop of the community tour to celebrate survivorship and champion the importance of cardiovascular health as part of a long-term healthy lifestyle.
The risk of recurring heart attacks is significant, but it can be lowered by physician-led care, focused on post-heart attack management and prevention, typically consisting of a treatment plan and lifestyle changes. Through the Survivors Have Heart campaign, AstraZeneca and Harper want people to learn about symptoms and warning signs, take steps toward living a healthier life and, of course, stay motivated to commit to their doctor’s treatment plan.
“In Tampa alone, approximately 15,000 adults have heart disease.1,2 Being a heart attack survivor puts you in a club you never wanted to join, but once you’re a part of it, you are bonded by the experience. As survivors, we carry each other, and together with the support of the network of heart attack survivors, we are one heart stronger,” said Harper.
For more tools and resources, visit www.SurvivorsHaveHeart.com or the Survivors Have Heart Facebook Community Page.
References
- American Heart Association. Tampa Bay Health Measurements. https://www.heart.org/en/affiliates/florida/tampa-bay. Last accessed May 16, 2019.
- United States Census Bureau. Quick Facts Tampa City, Florida. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/tampacityflorida. Last accessed May 16, 2019.
US-29151 Last Updated 05/19