As
the founder of the Orawiec Cardiac Fund of the
Polish-American Medical Society, and everybody who benefited
from the Fund, I wish to sincerely thank Mr. Gregory Handzel
and his wife, Mrs. Marzena Handzel, for their generous
donation to the Fund in 2008. I would also like to thank the
organizers of the Handzel Open Tennis Tournament, the players,
participants and sponsors. The entire donation of 7,000 USD
went towards cardiac risk factor screenings among the
Polish-American community, including the Polish Highlander
community, which were conducted at St. Constance Church, and
the Polish Highlander House, on July 26th and 28th, 2008. It
is a great privilege to once again receive the donation from
the Handzel Open Tournament in 2011 towards these life saving
causes.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) heart disease and stroke
is the world’s largest killer, claiming 17.1 million lives a
year. In the United States, more than 80 million people have
some form of cardiovascular disease. About 2,300 people die
every day of cardiovascular disease, an average of one death
every 38 seconds. More people die from heart disease than from
all types of cancers, respiratory illnesses, accidents, and
diabetes combined. Coronary artery disease, the most common
form of cardiovascular disease, is the leading cause of death
in the US today. We can improve these statistics by
controlling certain factors that play an important role in a
person’s chances of developing cardiac disease – these are
called risk factors. The major risk factors are: high
cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, smoking,
unhealthy diet, inactivity, age, gender and family history of
heart disease. Cardiovascular disease can take many forms
including: high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, heart
failure, valvular heart disease or stroke.
To
help people better understand their personal risk for
cardiovascular disease, to raise awareness about risk factors,
to promote a healthy life style, and to help those with no
insurance and no resources for testing, Orawiec Cardiac Fund
of the Polish American Medical Society was established. The
Fund continues to provide these invaluable services to the
Polish-American community and has been recognized by the
patients, as well as the American and Polish governments.
Founder of the Cardiac Fund, Dr. Bronislaw Orawiec, started
free screening for total cholesterol, lipid fractions (HDL –
High Density Lipoproteins, LDL – Low Density Lipoproteins,
Triglycerides), blood pressure, glucose, body mass index and
overall health risks in 1996. Since then, Dr. Orawiec has been
conducting free, 2 to 4 day-long screenings for the Polish
community every year. Thousands of people have benefited from
these screenings, many of them having their tests done for the
first time in their lives.
In
1999, The World Heart Federation, an international
nongovernmental organization based in Geneva Switzerland was
founded. The organization is dedicated to the prevention and
control of cardiovascular disease and stroke around the world.
Annual World Heart Day is run (since 2000) by the
World Heart Federation’s almost 200 member organizations in
more than 100 countries. This year’s World Heart Day, taking
place on the 25th of September, under the theme „One World,
One Home, One Heart” encourages people to join together and
create heart-healthy communities. Communities – from
families to schools, social groups, workplaces and religious
circles – can encourage smoke-free environments, regular
physical activity and healthy food choices.
It
is worth mentioning that while treatment and control of the
major cardiac disease risk factors are lacking in the American
population in general, the statistical data amassed by Dr.
Orawiec during screenings clearly indicates that the Polish
community is even less aware of the risk factors and ways of
preventing heart diseases. The
more risk factors one has, the more likely one is to develop
heart disease, unless action is taken to modify risk factors
and work to prevent these devastating consequences. The higher
the level of each risk factor, the
greater the risk of developing coronary heart disease. Some of
them can be modified, treated or controlled (high blood
cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, obesity,
smoking or tobacco use, physical inactivity and unhealthy
diet) and some cannot (age, gender, and family history of
heart disease). But by controlling as many risk factors as
possible through lifestyle changes, certain medicines, or
both, one can reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, heart
attack and stroke.
The
goal of the Cardiac Fund is to support fighting cardiac
disease in the Polish-American community in Chicago –
problems that affects many of us and our loved ones. With the
help of donations, we hope to do even more – reaching more
people and providing them with more services.
It
is never too late or too early to begin improving heart
health. Some risk factors can be controlled, while others
cannot. By eliminating risk factors that one can change and by
properly managing those that one cannot control, it’s
possible to greatly reduce risk of heart disease, heart attack
and stroke.
The
Orawiec Cardiac Fund of the Polish American Medical Society is
a non-for-profit, federal tax-exempt fund, and donations are
tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
For more information, please contact:
Bronisław Orawiec, MD, PhD, FACC, FCCP, FABI
Honorary President, Polish-American Medical Society
General physician, Polish Highlanders Alliance of America
5428 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60630
Tel. 773.594.1515
Fax: 773.594.1674
E-mail:
www.drorawiec.org
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