For an organization, particularly a nonprofit, to have persevered for nearly 100 years – as the American Heart Association (AHA) has – is an impressive feat. But, to have flourished and evolved into one of integral importance in health care over that time is extraordinary and raises a host of questions, including the following: When was the AHA established – and by whom? How did it evolve into what it is today? Answers to these and other questions can be found here.
Before the establishment of the AHA, those with heart disorders or defects, including coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, had little recourse but to live out their remaining days in bed – provided they were fortunate enough not to pass away even before getting to that point.
Today, people from all over the world rely on the AHA as an advocate, an ally, and a resource in the battle against cardiovascular ailments. Strictly voluntary, the AHA comprises thousands of smaller organizations in all 50 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. Over 4 million individuals donate their time and energy to battle everything from maladies as common as cardiovascular disease to ailments as rare as the congenital defect truncus arteriosus. Indeed, as a testament to the AHA’s commitment to preventing not only heart disease and defects, but also strokes, it has spent approximately $4 billion on research toward that end over the past 70 years.
Establishment and Early Years of the AHA
Starting around 1915, physicians and social workers started to convene for a better understanding of heart disease. Almost 10 years later, several cardiologists representing some of these precursor groups established the AHA in 1924. Notable among them was Dr. Paul Dudley White, who described the time as one of almost unbelievable ignorance about the very matter he and his colleagues were aiming to address – namely, heart disease.
The following year, the group held its initial “scientific sessions” meeting, where health care specialists and scientists alike convened to apprise themselves and one another of the latest developments in the new field of heart disease medicine. Except for during the Second World War, that meeting has been held annually ever since and is now the largest annual heart get-together in the country and foremost on the planet for the heart health society.
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The AHA from the 1930s through the 1960s
National Heart Week commenced in 1947 and is still held annually in the form of American Heart Month, which is designed to raise awareness of various heart conditions. Although the title selected for 2022’s campaign was “Heart to Heart: Why Losing One Woman Is Too Many,” the movement’s focus is not meant to suggest that heart disease spares men. Indeed, males usually develop cardiovascular disease earlier than females, and their chances of coronary heart disease are greater. By contrast, females’ risk of stroke is higher and at more advanced ages.
The AHA has funded 14 Nobel Prize winners, the first of whom was Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi in 1937. For many winners, their research on the energy that muscles like the heart need to contract led directly to their wins. In 1957, the first pacemaker, powered by batteries and fully wearable, was implanted.
By the 1960s, microsurgery enabled breakthroughs in coronary artery surgery, neurosurgery on the brain, and artificial heart valve replacements, among other procedures.
The AHA in More Recent Years
Even after decades of already going strong, the AHA revealed in 2008 that mouth-to-mouth breathing is not necessary in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, only correctly performed chest compressions. And in 2009, the AHA spearheaded efforts to battle Philip Morris and other corporations responsible for perpetuating the deadly habit of smoking, resulting in more industry regulations.
Most recently, in 2018, the AHA made headlines with its choice to create a for-profit partnership with Laerdal Medical Partners known as RQI Partners, which goes a long way toward achieving the ultimate goal of having a planet where deaths from cardiac arrest are a thing of the past. Nearly half a million people who pass away from cardiac arrest can survive and contribute to society due to the work of the AHA.
Having saved millions of lives, the AHA’s contributions are immeasurable. To make such an organization possible requires the generosity and countless hours of many people – something that the organization has successfully enabled for nearly the past 100 years. Hopefully, the AHA will continue to do whatever it takes to save lives affected by heart sicknesses for the next 100 years and beyond.