exploring & escapades

Stories are powerful. They help us build emotional connections. They help us learn and share information. They inspire us.

Earlier this summer, we had an idea. What if we could fight heart disease directly with our own stories? What if, as a community, our unique experiences with heart disease could be used to raise awareness and inspire action?

We had already suspected that many of you had deeply personal reasons for joining theHealth eHeart Study, but we were worried that you would shy away from sharing such personal experiences with us. We decided to try anyway. And so, we asked you, the Health eHeart community, to share your reasons for joining us. We had hoped to receive a trickle of responses. We received over 100 responses in just two days.

We were (and still are) overwhelmed by your outpouring of support and by the range of emotional experiences that you shared. Some of you were born with heart defects or have family members who were. Others developed heart disease suddenly and unexpectedly. Some have long family histories. Others simply want to give back.

Your stories reflect the immense diversity within our community, the range of our experiences as unique individuals, and our collective strength and courage to fight heart disease together.

Most of all, your stories inspire us. We believe that they will inspire others too, and so we are excited to announce that we are creating a blog series, Health eHeart Stories. Each week, we will share a new face and a new story. We hope that you share them with your family, friends, and communities too. By amplifying our voices, we can inspire others to join the fight.

We are all heart disease fighters, fighting different battles at different stages, but our goal is the same. We hope to end heart disease forever. It’s through our stories that we become one.

If you have a story that you’d like to share to be featured here, please fill out this form, and a member from our team will be in touch.

Thank you again, Health eHeart community, for taking the time to share these pieces of yourselves with us. We are privileged to know you and work together. Thank you for all that you do!