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Health

American Heart Month – Give a Piece of Your Heart

This post was written by me through an activation with HireInfluence on behalf of BIOLIFE4D. Although I received compensation for participating in the campaign, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The human heart is a miraculous and precious thing. It is the engine that sets the rhythm for your day. At roughly the size of a fist, it’s much smaller than you might have imagined. It is often a cartoon caricature this time of year and frequently it is the subject of so many love songs.

Your heart also demands care and attention, like a high end sports car. It keeps your blood flowing and faithfully helps your body perform all the things it was meant to do every single day.

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February is American Heart Month. It’s a month that’s near and dear to me, as it should also be to you. 1 in 4 people are affected by heart disease. Which means almost every family has been touched by heart disease. That includes me. My uncle has a pacemaker. A longtime friend of mine had a heart attack in her 40s. My mom had high blood pressure. I’m currently doing my best to keep my blood pressure from continuing to creep up into the high category, as well.

That’s why American Heart Month is so important to me. Heart disease is a killer. In fact, it takes the lives of more people annually than all cancers combined. Unfortunately, it’s so common, we rarely give it the coverage, or attention, that it deserves. We’ve just become used to it, I suppose.

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Give Heart to a Patient for American Heart Month

However many people battle heart disease every day. While the rest of us generally live our lives assuming our bodies will do what we want them to, there are many people out there who don’t have that luxury due to low heart function. There are people who are just hoping for one more day. Heart disease is real, and cardiovascular disease is devastating to patients and families.

That’s why I’m so happy to participate in the Act of Heart campaign with BioLife4D. Daily Mom tagged me to take part in this campaign that’s all about giving the gift of heart to those who suffer from heart disease. For so many people, heart disease has become a debilitating part of their daily life, and American Heart Month is the perfect time to let them know that there are people out there who recognize that they are going through something terrible and difficult and that those same people care about their health and well-being.

Today, my daughters and I sent a card to a stranger with heart disease currently in the hospital. I was excited to do this with my daughters because they are both very creative, and one is an aspiring artist. They both know all about Random Acts of Kindness and in fact this past month received a small pick me up at school from someone randomly spreading kindness.

I spent much of my teens and 20s in and out of hospital with Crohn’s Disease. I know all too well how lonely it can be to spend weeks, even months in a hospital recuperating or waiting for treatment. Visits and small tokens of support went a long way. Once a family member decorated my entire room for Christmas to cheer me up. Big gestures, or small, it doesn’t matter really. The important thing is showing a random act of heart for someone struggling.

This week my kids and I bought cards and signed them together to send to someone currently in hospital. Sending a card is a simple thing to do. It’s the kind of thing that a person suffering with heart disease can really get some encouragement out of. It was also an excellent opportunity to further reinforce to my daughters that there are all sorts of different ways to give back.

Build A Heart Save A Life – BIOLIFE4D from BIOIFE4D on Vimeo.</p

Give Heart to ALL Patients for American Heart Month

Giving a sweet signed card is an excellent way to help lift the spirit of one person suffering with heart disease, but what if we could do more to help many people out there who suffer from some form of heart disease? Well, actually you can. BioLife4D is a biotech company working to change the face of heart disease and how we treat it. It’s not always possible to save a human heart. Sometimes it has to be replaced.

BioLife4D is working on a way to do that without waiting for a heart donor. They are currently working towards their ultimate goal of 3D printing a viable human heart that can be used for heart transplants. A breakthrough like this could save the lives of the many people who die every year waiting for a heart from the transplant list by providing the hearts in need and also eliminating the problems of finding blood type matches and organ rejection. So what can you do to help?

BioLife4D wants the general public to join its mission and is having an equity crowdfunding campaign. They receive no subsidies of any kind. That means that they need to secure funding from wherever they can get it, from the largest donors to the smallest. This American Heart Month, you can help the people out there who are battling heart disease by investing in

BioLife4D and their quest to make a viable 3D printed heart a reality. It’s so important because so many people lose their battle with heart disease every year.

Join BioLife4D’s Team – Invest in the Future of Medicine and People

BioLife4D is working on a way to do that without waiting for a heart donor. They are currently working towards their ultimate goal of 3D printing a viable human heart that can be used for heart transplants. A breakthrough like this could save the lives of the many people who die every year waiting for a heart from the transplant list by providing the hearts in need and also eliminating the problems of finding blood type matches and organ rejection. So what can you do to help?

BioLife4D wants the general public to join its mission and is having an equity crowdfunding campaign. They receive no subsidies of any kind. That means that they need to secure funding from wherever they can get it, from the largest donors to the smallest. This American Heart Month, you can help the people out there who are battling heart disease by investing in

BioLife4D and their quest to make a viable 3D printed heart a reality. It’s so important because so many people lose their battle with heart disease every year.

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Jack’s Story

 

Ultimately a 3D printed heart could help people like Jack Radandt lead full and happy lives. In January I received a letter about Jack Radandt, a heart transplant recipient as a child at 11 years old!! Jack was born with a congenital heart defect affecting blood flow to his heart. His reconstructive process began at 10 days old. He is now a health happy 16 year old raising awareness for paediatric heart conditions. But not all stories end this well. Which is why it’s important to build strong solutions in the future and support BioLife4D.

How Can You Help?

  1. Share this post.
  2. Send your own Random Acts of Heart card to this address – Texas Children’s Hospital, 6621 Fannin Street, Ste. A1125 Houston, Texas USA 77030
  3. Tag a Friend to send a Random Act of Heart to someone too.
  4. Support BioLife4D.
  5. Invest in BioLife4D’s crowdfunding equity campaign.

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.

25 Comments

  • robin rue

    So many people suffer from heart disease and I love this campaign! There is so much we can do to take care of our hearts because after all, we only have one.

  • Alison Rost

    There’s so much that we can do to support this month. It’s all about raising awareness and sending some love to those who are currently dealing with heart issues. I think BioLife4D can help a lot of people.

  • candy

    Maintaining a healthy heart is of course essential to our over all way of life. Getting check up regularly, eating heathy and research your family history for heart disease. Be informed and stay informed. Help out when and if you can.

  • Jennifer

    3D printed hearts?? That completely blows my mind! Amazing! What a nice thing for your girls to do to send cards to people in the hospital, that is such a simple and thoughtful way to give back. I love it!

  • Laura

    I had no idea the Random Acts of Heart existed, my kids would love to take part in that! Being in the hospital can be tough, it would be nice to bring a smile to someone’s face with a simple card.

  • Marysa

    Technology really is amazing – it is incredible that this technology is being created! I hope that it can help a lot of people in the future. That’s great to be able to help out heart patients like this.

  • sara

    THank you for sharing this important initiative for heart month! If you do not take care of your heart you will not have a long life.

  • Emily

    This is such a sweet sentiment and so important to make those effect by Heart disease feel loved and supported. I think it is great to have a month to focus on heart health and raise awareness for it.

  • Carol Cassara

    Even something as simple as giving a card to someone who’s in the hospital is definitely going to help. I’ve heard about BIOLIFE4D and I think they have the best intentions about saving lives. It’s also a good reminder for how much we need to take care of our heart.

  • Sandy N Vyjay

    Heart disease is indeed a scourge across the world. More awareness needs to be spread about it. What a commendable campaign you are involved in and nice to see your daughters participating actively too.

  • Monica

    Wow, what a scientific breakthrough this would be! The number of lives that would be saved with this 3D printed heart would be enormous and I can only imagine they would continue and one day be able to replicate other organs as well!

  • Amanda

    This is such an important campaign because heart disease is so prevalent, especially in women. It is time for all of us to truly slow down and come together to ensure we are all living healthy lives by participating in campaigns like this.

  • Heather

    This is such a nice post. My husband and I both have congenital heart defects. He had a malformed aorta repaired when he was a child and I had an atrial septal defect repaired in my 20’s. It’s amazing we have two daughters with perfectly healthy hearts. Heart health is very important in our home and we’d love to help too!

  • Olivia

    WHat a wonderful way to share hope and encouragement! Also, how amazing is that that we are on the way to 3D printing organs for transplant?!! I was just talking with my dad today about the need for organ donation. This technology would be an incredible breakthrough.