Program Will Educate on the Atrial Fibrillation-Stroke Risk Connection and Raise up to $30,000 for the National Stroke Association
The Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer Alliance, the National Stroke
Association and iHeartMedia today launched ‘Tune in to AFib, Take Note
of Stroke Risk’ to educate the estimated nearly seven million Americans
in 2017 living with atrial fibrillation (AFib) not caused by a heart
valve problem about their increased risk of stroke. People with AFib are
five times more likely to have a stroke than those who do not have the
condition, and these strokes are more severe and more likely to be fatal
than strokes not associated with AFib. Through music, the program aims
to inspire people living with AFib, the most common type of irregular
heartbeat, to work with their doctor to help reduce their risk of stroke.
Afternoon host of New York’s Classic Rock Station Q104.3 Ken Dashow
knows how important it is for people to ‘tune in’ to AFib. “When one of
my closest friends told me he had AFib and explained the associated
increased stroke risk, I had to find a way to use my voice and get
involved,” said Dashow. “In my more than 30 years of experience in the
music industry, I’ve learned that music has a powerful ability to
inspire action. Through ‘Tune in to AFib,’ we’re urging people with AFib
to take action by talking to their doctor about how to reduce their
stroke risk.”
‘Tune in to AFib’ includes an educational website, TuneintoAFib.com,
where people can view exclusive concert footage of Southside Johnny and
the Asbury Jukes, hear from Ken Dashow and learn more about AFib and its
associated increased stroke risk. The program also encourages people to
take an online quiz to determine how ‘in tune’ they are with AFib and
stroke risk. Those who complete the quiz can access an additional
exclusive music video and the Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer Alliance
will make a $1 donation to the National Stroke Association for each
person who completes the quiz, up to $30,000.
With AFib, the top chambers of the heart (“the atria”) do not contract
properly to push blood through the heart. As a result, some blood
remains in the top chambers, which can pool, and clots may form. These
clots can travel to the brain, blocking or limiting blood flow, and may
result in a stroke.
“Many people with AFib not caused by a heart valve problem don’t have
any symptoms and are unaware that the condition is the cause of
approximately 15 percent of all strokes,” said David Frankel, M.D.,
Director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship Program and
Assistant Professor of Medicine at Penn Medicine. “’Tune in to AFib’
encourages these people to increase their knowledge of this serious
medical condition, recognize their increased stroke risk and work with
their doctor to help reduce this risk.”
To learn more, visit TuneintoAFib.com.
About Bristol-Myers Squibb
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Bristol-Myers Squibb:Carrie Fernandez, 609-302-4342M: 215-859-2605 Carrie.Fernandez@bms.com orPfizer:Neha Wadhwa, 212-733-2835 Neha.Wadhwa@Pfizer.com