LARRY SADWIN, a past chairperson for the American Heart Association’s Rhode Island affiliate, recently received the association’s 2024 Yvonne Heredia Lifetime Achievement Award at its Southern New England Heart Ball. The award recognizes individuals who have shown an unwavering commitment to advancing equitable health outcomes.
What does receiving this award mean to you? My father died of his third heart attack at age 42. He never got to see his children marry or meet his grandchildren. When I was diagnosed with heart disease, the treatments available through the programs and research of the AHA had evolved significantly. My heart disease was diagnosed when I was 38. I am 81 years old now. Joanie and I have been married for 59 years. We have seen our children marry and become successful adults, and we now enjoy time spent with our four extraordinary grandchildren. I have been an active volunteer with the organization for more than 40 years. I think I might say that it is actually the heart association that should be getting this award. Thanks to them, I have been given additional years that my father did not experience – a lifetime that has been filled with joy and purpose.
In your time working alongside the AHA, how far advanced have treatments for heart disease developed? I’ll leave it to the medical professionals to discuss treatment advances, but during my tenure with AHA, I have seen the organization become more patient-centric. The focus on the fact that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women became the driving force behind the research and initiatives to bring change to this population. There has also been a realization that the disparities in health care is a critical factor in the quality of life of Americans. The fact that your ZIP code could be a determinant of the length of your life is an issue the AHA has championed in trying to correct.
Explain the AHA patient support network and how patients benefited from it. This initiative was created to allow a patient to reach out in real time to voice their issues and concerns to each other in a safe environment. It was a place where not only the physical impact of heart disease and stroke could be discussed, but also the emotional toll that the disease takes on the patient.
How has the Get With The Guidelines hospital quality program helped local hospitals in research and treatments for heart disease? Each year, the American Heart Association recognizes hospitals across the country … for consistently following up-to-date, research-based treatment guidelines for cardiovascular disease. Eight hospitals in Rhode Island are among the more than 3,000 nationwide that participate in the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines and other programs to improve outcomes for Americans who experience heart disease or stroke. These hospitals maintain unrelenting standards to help patients in Rhode Island live longer, healthier lives and have the opportunity for a higher quality of life.