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News / Headlines
Contact: Daniel Keeney, APR
DPK Public Relations
832.467.2904
dan@dpkpr.com
SHAPE Golf FORE
Heart 2011 Raises $32,000 for Heart Attack Prevention and
Eradication
BALTIMORE, July 12, 2011 –
SHAPE, The Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication (
http://www.shapesociety.org
), a nonprofit organization that promotes early detection and
preventive intervention to reduce heart attack risk, today announced
the Golf FORE Heart 2011 Guy P. Fernandez Memorial Golf Tournament
raised a total of $32,000. A total of 136 golfers participated in
the charity golf tournament started by Baltimore resident, JoAnne
Zawitoski, in memory of her late husband, Guy Fernandez. The event
took place on June 15 at the Mountain Branch Golf Club, in Joppa
Maryland.
"Golf FORE Heart is a family affair for us and Guy's friends and
colleagues,” said Zawitoski of Semmes, Bowen & Semmes, who
co-chaired the event with Mark Montgomery of Ports America
Chesapeake. “It is also a fun day for a great cause -- preventing
that first heart attack. I know that Guy would be pleased with what
we're doing. There were so many supporters this year, the event was
at maximum capacity and some golfers actually had to be
unfortunately turned away!”
Funds raised at Golf FORE Heart support SHAPE’s mission of
preventing first heart attacks and supporting efforts to eradicate
heart attack. SHAPE supports traditional risk-reduction strategies
including public education and awareness, and undertakes preventive
screening initiatives for early detection and intervention in the
asymptomatic population.
With generous support from Panasonic, CardioNexus, and Baltimore
Ultrasound Services, Inc., Golf FORE Heart 2011 participants
received biometric screenings and were even able to get their
carotid arteries screened for plaque – an important indicator of
atherosclerosis, and a primary heart attack risk factor.
"It has been obvious for some time that new strategies are needed to
fight the growing epidemic of atherosclerotic cardiovascular
disease,” said Dr. Morteza Naghavi, Founder of SHAPE. “Continuing to
do what we have done in the past 20 years, while useful, will not
suffice. Heart attack has been the number one killer in this country
for decades. To change the status quo we need to change the way we
think and practice."
SHAPE advocates two simple screening tests to detect signs of
atherosclerosis, or plaque build-up in arteries, which is the true
cause of heart attacks. The two simple tests are a Carotid Intima-Media
Thickness (CIMT) Ultrasound, and a Calcium Scoring CT Heart Scan.
Both are easy, fast, inexpensive and non-invasive. And both
screenings were elevated to Level 2A status in the November 2010
Guidelines released by the American College of Cardiology and the
American Heart Association.
The death of Guy Fernandez probably could have been prevented if he
was screened for atherosclerosis. A Baltimore resident, Fernandez
was 49 years old, a non-smoker with a 34 inch waist when he died
instantly of a massive heart attack 10 days after receiving a clean
bill of health from his primary care physician. Although he had no
prior symptoms of heart disease, no chest pain or shortness of
breath, he had three severely blocked arteries.
Fernandez's story reflects the fact that every day more than 1,900
previously healthy individuals arrive at emergency rooms with a
first heart attack. Traditional risk assessment guidelines simply
miss these people, about 80 percent of whom are considered to be at
low to intermediate risk prior to their heart attack.
Major supporters of the event included: Atalanta Sosnoff Capital,
Ports America Chesapeake, Inc., Atlantic Container Lines, Inc.,
Highstar Capital, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, Propeller Club
of Baltimore, Inc. Charitable Trust, Semmes Bowen & Semmes
Foundation, McCalls Handling, BalTerm, LLP, Columbia Partners, LLC,
IPS Group, Inc., McCarthy Tire and Corman Marine Construction.
Editors: Download high resolution images at
http://dpkpr.com/photos/set/1/ by clicking on the photo
and clicking “view all sizes.”
About SHAPE
Based in Houston, the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and
Eradication (SHAPE) is a non-profit organization that promotes
education and research related to prevention, detection, and
treatment of heart attacks. SHAPE is committed to raising public
awareness about revolutionary discoveries that are opening exciting
avenues to prevent heart attacks. SHAPE's mission is to eradicate
heart attacks in the 21st century. Additional information is
available on the organization's Web site at
www.shapesociety.org .
For further information about Golf FORE Heart and the story of Guy
Fernandez, please contact:
JoAnne Zawitoski
Semmes, Bowen & Semmes
25 South Charles St., Suite 1400
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
(410) 576-4899
Mark Montgomery
Ports America Baltimore, Inc.
2200 Broening Highway, Suite 100
Baltimore, Maryland 21224
(410) 631-5950
For further information about SHAPE, please contact:
Jay Donnella
Executive Director
The Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE)
710 N. Post Oak Road, Ste 400
Houston, TX 77024
713-529-4484
Jay.Donnella@shapesociety.org
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