I want to let folks know how important it is for rural residents in Arkansas to have access to cardiac care. Each week we bring a portable imaging machine into our small rural towns so people who live in the country can get the tests they need to diagnose and treat their heart disease. I know many of these elderly residents would not drive all the way to Little Rock – a 70-mile trip one way—for their care. It just takes too much out of them. But they will go to their local office to receive care because it’s convenient and it gives them the same high-quality care they’d receive in the main office in Little Rock. If we didn’t have the ability to provide these mobile machines, I believe we’d have much higher rates of cardiac death in our rural areas”.

David Mego, MD, FACC/Little Rock Cardiology Clinic

We’re really excited about the number of people who have visited GuardingHeartsAlliance.org so far. It’s heart-warming (sorry, cardiologist humor) to see so many patients and caregivers learning about the issues. When it comes to cardiac care, the most expensive heart attack is the one we could’ve prevented. Too many times people ignore the symptoms of heart disease until “the big one” happens…but it doesn’t have to be that way. The amazing imaging technology that cardiologists use to diagnose heart disease in its early stages helps patients avoid that potentially fatal heart attack. I see patients all the time who don’t believe they are at risk for a heart attack but get dragged in by a spouse. Then they see the image of their heart clear as day with partial or full blockages of their arteries. The light bulb goes off and they get serious about taking care of themselves. That’s why it’s so important to make sure patients have access to these lifesaving tests in the doctor’s office. We save lives every day by putting patients first.

Aalya Crowl, M.D./Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists

Thanks for visiting our new Website, GuardingHeartsAlliance.org! Our goal is very simple: America has the best cardiac care in the world and we want to keep it that way – for our patients and the people who love them. It’s a tough fight because heart disease kills more Americas every year than cancer, accidents and diabetes combined.  We have come a long way to reduce death and heart-related illness—down by 27 percent in just the past 10 years! We support Medicare regulations and health care legislation that put the patient first … in our world, that means making sure cardiac patients have access to the tests their doctors use to diagnose and treat their heart disease. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? But in reality, access to lifesaving technology is being threatened, both by proposed Medicare regulations and in certain provisions of health care legislation. That’s why Guarding Hearts Alliance (GHA) was created: to make sure the amazing tools we have in the fight against America’s Number One killer are available to everyone who needs care. Let us know what you think!