Happy 2010 to All!
For most of us, the coming of a new year causes us to think, and make, resolutions in our lives for change. It may be a change in diet, or a plan to save or earn more money in this coming year. Whatever your resolution is, I’m sure it is a good one for you!
What I would ask is that you not only let this be a time for resolutions for your personal future, but also a time to make resolutions about how change can be made in the world to make it better for our children and grandchildren. Just take a moment to sit back, close your eyes, and imagine in your mind what you would wish for the young and their futures.
I know what I wish. I wish that they “ALL” would live long enough to have a future and that’s what I work toward resolving every day!
With the new year just beginning, the facts are that, between the ages of 0 – 25, 14,000 young people will lose their life to a “detectable” and “treatable” cardiac arrhythmia. Out of those 14,000 deaths, 7,000 deaths occur between the ages of 6 – 18. That means that just TODAY, no less than 20 children will loose their lives suddenly and unexpectedly to a “silent” killer known as “Cardiac Arrhythmia Syndrome”. Out of those 14,000 deaths, 300 – 400 occur in the public arena; dropping at the finish line, on the basketball court or the hockey rink. We have all heard of these stories whether in a particular sport, community or even a family you may know. Unfortunately, because the public deaths are the only ones you may hear of, there are 13,600 other young people who are dying unnoticed; possibly in their sleep, running up the stairs or maybe even sitting in a room watching their favorite television show. Unthinkable? YET TRUE! And it could happen in your own family or that of someone you may know.
We here at the Cardiac Arrhythmia Syndromes Foundation want to change those statistics, and I am very confident that we will change those statistics through awareness, education and the ability to bring preventive heart screening (EKG/ECG) programs in schools. Big things can happen when you have big dreams. The idea is to not sit idle on those dreams. ACT on them!
Think for moment; your heart is your “LIFELINE”. It is also the lifeline to those thousands of young people out there who count on us to take care of them. Let your heart health, and that of our young people, be a priority!
Your heart is also where your deepest and sincerest feelings are kept. So when you sit back, close your eyes and imagine in your mind what you would wish for the young and their futures, wish them LIFE and, if you can, have the resolve and the spirit to act on it, even if it just means sharing the facts. The smallest things can make the biggest difference!
Everyone's "Lifeline"
