Heart Ball pushes $500,000 fundraising goal

Although the mood was merry for an evening of dinner, dancing, champagne and entertainment, the reason for the Northwest Arkansas Heart Ball was serious, focusing on heart problems in children.

The American Heart Association's 14th annual fundraising event, themed "Return to Southampton," was held Saturday (May 11) at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers and attracted several hundred people, said AHA spokeswoman Alexis Sims. An estimated 930 attended the event, according to Sims.

The event goal was to raise $500,000, about half of which was estimated to come from sponsors, Sims said. Ticket sales and auctions, both silent and live, accounted for the other half of the proceeds, she said. (Update: Officials reported May 16 that the event raised $490,000.)

Funds were also raised by the Sweethearts, 30 high school sophomores who volunteer and participate in educational programs. The event was emceed by 4029 anchorwoman Angela Taylor and KIX 104 radio host Jake McBride. Tate Stevens, country musician and X Factor winner, performed with his band after supper while couples dressed in their most colorful attire whirled and twirled on the dance floor.

This year’s event focused on raising money for research to combat heart problems in children, whether congenital birth defects or health issues caused by childhood obesity.

"Obesity affects 17 percent of all children and adolescents in the U.S.," a rate that has tripled since 1980, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity can lead to high blood pressure and high cholesterol, both of which contribute to heart disease, according to the CDC.

The AHA raises money for research into congenital heart conditions. In the U.S., most birth defects are heart-related, affecting 1% of births each year (or about 40,000 children), according to the CDC.

To illustrate the importance of this research, the AHA presented 7-month-old Aubrey Funa as this year's Featured Survivor. Aubrey was born with a heart defect that prevented her body from getting the oxygen it needed.

"We were in complete shock and disbelief because we did not know of her condition until she was about 40 hours old," said Aubrey's mother Alicia Funa. "We thought we had this completely healthy baby, and we were almost ready to go home."

Aubrey started turning blue in the hospital nursery, prompting the medical team at Willow Creek Women’s Hospital to perform a second pulse oximetry test, a noninvasive procedure in which sensors on an infant’s hands and feet measure blood oxygen levels.

Aubrey’s first pulse oximetry test scores were borderline but passable, Funa said. However, the second pulse oximetry test revealed dangerously low blood oxygen levels.

"We were heartbroken," Funa said. "As a new mother already going through the emotions of giving birth, I just wanted to hold my baby and I couldn’t be with her all the time. I just didn't know what the future would be."

Just a few generations ago Aubrey's heart condition would have been fatal. Today, the surgery she underwent has a 95% success rate, according to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

In April, the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 768, which requires birthing facilities to perform a pulse oximetry test on all newborns. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Washington Regional Medical Center and Northwest Health System already perform the test on every newborn.

The City Wire was a Northwest Arkansas Heart Ball sponsor.