Heart Disease Risks Double After 40

From the Southern drawl of Razorbacks Athletic Director Frank Broyles to the familiar face of Rogers banker Dick Trammel, local personalities fuel the American Heart Association’s success in Northwest Arkansas.

Well-known characters, including Tyson Foods legend Buddy Wray, helped the organization reach its potential, said Angela Norwood, the association’s metro executive director.

The organization’s most successful fundraiser, the Northwest Arkansas Heart Walk/5k Run, owes its bounding progress to the recognizable names that support it, Norwood said.

In 1999, the Heart Walk raised about $70,000. A year later, the event more than doubled its contributions with $150,000, and Norwood said she anticipates $265,000 from this year’s walk. It is scheduled for Saturday, May 19, on the University of Arkansas campus. More than 2,500 are expected to attend.t

Cardiovascular disease killed 11,331 people in Arkansas last year, including 890 in Benton and Washington counties, according to the Arkansas Health Department. The American Heart Association said heart disease and strokes kill more people in the United States than any other condition.

The risk of cardiovascular disease more than doubles beween the age of 34 and 45, according to American Heart Association statistics.

Among women, it’s fatal more often than the next 14 causes of death combined.

Many of the volunteer spokesmen for the organization are heart disease or stroke survivors, including former UA chancellor and Heart Walk chairman Dan Ferritor. Both he and his wife Patsy have repeatedly confronted heart disease.

“We’re kind of poster children for families with cardiovascular disease,” Ferritor said.

The list of American Heart Association volunteer board and auxiliary officers also contains local professionals such as Springdale cardiologist Joel Carver, Tyson Executive Vice President John Lea and Athletic World Advertising President Gregg Ogden.

Norwood said maintaining the Heart Walk’s success is the goal now. Anchoring the territory dubbed “Heart of A-OK” because it stretches through eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas, the Fayetteville office’s campaign goal for 2001 is $1.12 million, Norwood said. Benton and Washington counties are expected to account for about $470,000 of that. The office operates with a staff of 10 people.

The American Heart Association office in Little Rock manages the rest of Arkansas and sets annual goals $200,000-$300,000 higher than the Northwest Arkansas hub, Norwood said.

Both the Little Rock and the Fayetteville offices are part of the association’s Heartland Affiliate, a regional subsidiary that serves 18.7 million people in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Meet the Statistics

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga., cardiovascular disease kills 2,600 Americans daily, averaging one death every 33 seconds.

Heart disease and strokes cost the nation an estimated $326.6 billion last year, including $140.8 billion of lost productivity, according to the CDC. Heart disease is also the leading cause of premature, permanent disability among working adults.

In 1984, at 44 years old, Ferritor was in the prime of his career when he suffered angina pains that resulted in bypass surgery.

Although his father died at age 59 of similar problems, Ferritor recovered and went on to serve as chancellor at the university for almost 12 years, the third longest term in the school’s history. As head of the university, Ferritor led a drive that raised $13 million to renovate Old Main, and he continues to teach in the sociology department.

Patsy Ferritor lived a parallel story when she underwent surgery and survived the same health problems that ended her mother’s life. This year, Patsy Ferritor will serve as the Heart Walk’s red-cap chairwoman. All survivors of heart disease and stroke identify themselves by donning red hats for the Heart Walk. Nearly 250 red-capped participants are expected to attend this year.

Dan Ferritor said advanced technology, funded by organizations such as the American Heart Association, saved him and his wife, and the ordeal convinced the Ferritors to change their lifestyles.

“There is something you can do,” Ferritor said, “You can change your life. You can eat better. You can, for God’s sake, quit smoking.” After about 25 years of cigarettes, Ferritor quit puffing, began watching his cholesterol levels and started having annual physical exams.

Making such changes reduces the risk of further heart problems.

Former Tyson CEO Buddy Wray is also a heart disease survivor. Now serving as the Northwest Arkansas chairman of the board, Wray survived two quintuple-bypass open-heart surgeries. He began his fight with heart disease when he had a heart attack at age 35.

Wray’s father and grandfather died of similar ailments at age 60 and 58, respectively.

With technology and a more health-conscious society, death rates from heart disease have declined by 60 percent since 1950, according to the CDC.

The Fun in Fundraising

Second to the Heart Walk, the Northwest Arkansas Heart Gala raises the most money for the association. The black-tie-only affair hosted 320 guests at the Pinnacle Point Country Club on May 4.

Norwood estimated the dinner-and-dancing party raised $129,000, with $22,000 stemming from the silent auction alone. American Heart Association regulations allow offices to spend no more than 18 percent of the gross revenue made from the annual gala to finance the event, Norwood said, and the Northwest Arkansas office spent an estimated 15 percent.

In-kind donations — goods and services rather than money — kept the party under budget. Donations for the formal dinner included chicken from Tyson, program design and printing from The Goggans Agency in Fayetteville and all of the silent auction goods.

Norwood said the association generally succeeds when seeking in-kind donations.

“When we say that we’re the American Heart Association, people automatically say ‘yes’,” Norwood said. “We don’t get told ‘no’ very often.”

Finding Future Funds

By 2010, the American Heart Association aims to reduce coronary heart disease, stroke and risk factors by 25 percent. To achieve that goal, Norwood said, the organization educates adults and children about the risks and prevention of cardiovascular disease, finances medical research and works to establish a chain of survival.

Several educational programs target school-age children, and Bentonville public schools are actively involved with the association. Hoops for Hearts, a basketball fund-raiser, already teaches kids about the association, Norwood said, and a new program called “CPR in the Schools” could open in the Bentonville schools as early as this fall.

Medical research funded by the American Heart Association makes the most obvious difference for reducing the deaths from cardiovascular disease. Last year, the American Heart Association gave the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock about $500,000 for research, Norwood said.

The organization also strives to develop a strong chain of survival. When a person suffers a heart attack, the reaction of those nearest to the victim makes the difference for survival. Training the general public about how to handle emergency situations increases the patient’s chance. The association hosts a free-admission, mass CPR class annually. This year, 300 people attended the April class.

2000-2001 American Heart Association Northwest Arkansas Board of Directors include:

Board Officers — Buddy Wray, chairman, Dr. Joel Carver, president, John Lea, secretary/treasurer, Dan Ferritor, chairman elect, and Billie Jo Starr, chairman elect.

Auxilliary Officers — Kathy Counce, Heart Guild, Dan Ferritor, Heart Walk, Jason Hendren, Leadership Council, Athina McLendon, Heart Gala, Dennis Hunt, development, Gregg Ogden, communications, Billie Jo Starr, Mark Bever, Chris Wewers, Tami Hutchison, David Smith, Dr. Jim Counce, Elise Mitchell, Jack Mitchell, and Dr. Jeffery Tate.