For 100 years, the American Heart Association has been dedicated to improving heart health and raising awareness about cardiovascular disease, yet a Harris Poll in 2023 revealed more than half of Americans still do not recognize heart disease as the nation's leading cause of death.
The ongoing challenge underscores the importance of cardiac rehabilitation programs, which help patients recover from heart-related events and learn preventive health practices.
Murphy, 100, a notable participant, recovered from a silent heart attack through cardiac rehabilitation at Novant Health, serving as an example of the effectiveness of programs like this in helping people reclaim their health.
"I'm trying to maintain my strength and that's why I continue coming here," Murphy explained.
American Heart Association data show strokes and heart diseases together account for more U.S. deaths than cancer and chronic respiratory diseases combined.
Jan Wagoner, director of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation for Novant Health, said cardiac rehabilitation offers patients a vital pathway to recovery by helping them regain a sense of control and wellness. She pointed out patients like Murphy get medically supervised exercise, nutritional guidance and a supportive community.
"He was one of the few blessed patients who had been active enough in his life and had good genetics that his heart had created its own bypasses," Wagoner noted. "We call that collateral circulation. And so he was in rehab, gaining strength, gaining knowledge, regaining that sense of control over his life, feeling like he was thriving again."
She stressed cardiac disease is increasingly affecting younger adults and the shifting demographic illustrates how lifestyle choices can have significant consequences later in life. Wagoner emphasized adopting healthy habits including regular exercise and a balanced diet can make a substantial difference in heart health over time and reduce the risk of heart-related events.
"This is a disease that doesn't choose an age anymore," Wagoner observed. "It used to be that people were in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, and then it's now in their 30s and 40s and we see it all across."
The American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 guidelines highlight simple steps for better heart health, focusing on two areas: healthy habits like eating well, staying active, quitting tobacco, and getting good sleep; and managing key health factors such as weight, cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure.
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Health-care advocates are vowing to continue their fight to expand Medicaid in Kansas - despite this week's election, which expanded the Republican supermajority.
Gov. Laura Kelly, D-Kansas, supports expanding the program to more low-income families under the Affordable Care Act - but conservative lawmakers passed a law forbidding the move.
April Holman, executive director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, is among those calling for change.
"I think the bottom line is we have really been focused on building a grassroots movement that is too large and too loud for policymakers to ignore, and that's what we're going to continue to do, even with the most recent election results," she said.
Data from the Kansas Department of Public Health shows a maternal mortality rate of 11 deaths per every 100,000 live births. The agency found 13 maternal deaths from 2016 to 2018 and found all but one were preventable. And two-thirds of mothers were racial and ethnic minorities.
Holman noted that more than 14% of babies born to Black mothers in Kansas have low birth weights, and Black mothers are 200% more likely to have a low-birthweight baby.
"We think that in part that has to do with access to affordable health care, not only later in their pregnancy but also at the beginning and even pre-pregnancy," Holman continued.
The Kansas Health Institute estimates that almost 152,000 Kansans - including more than 45,000 children - would enroll in KanCare if Medicaid were to be expanded.
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