American Heart Association - Illinois

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American Heart Association - Illinois Working in Illinois to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke. We encourage you to post comments, photos and videos on this page.
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The American Heart Association and Chicago Bears had a blast training over 100 youth coaches and players in Hands-Only C...
21/10/2026

The American Heart Association and Chicago Bears had a blast training over 100 youth coaches and players in Hands-Only CPR at the IHSA Girls Flag Football State Finals! Thank you to Greta Warren for spending the morning with us sharing this lifesaving education!

18/10/2026

Closing out our Chicago Marathon runner spotlights by celebrating and sending a heartfelt THANK YOU to Team Run With Heart’s top fundraiser, Bill Weingarten. Bill is a long-time marathon runner and heart attack survivor who used his journey to fuel his support of the American Heart Association’s mission.

“Twenty-two years ago, I crossed the finish line of the Chicago Marathon with a medal around my neck and a huge smile on my face.

I've stayed active ever since - running, staying fit and taking my health seriously, but I haven't felt compelled to run 26.2 miles again. Until now.

Last year I had a heart attack. It was a scare, but I came through it fully recovered. And the experience gave me a new cause that I believe in deeply, the American Heart Association.

So this October, I'm running the 2026 Bank of America Chicago Marathon to raise money for the American Heart Association.

The American Heart Association funds the research, education, and emergency response systems that help people like me survive heart events and go on to live full, active lives. That work is personal to me now. I want to give back in a meaningful way — and running 26.2 miles through the city I love feels like the right way to do it.

My goal is to raise $25,000. Every dollar goes directly to the Association's life-saving mission. If you can contribute, it would mean the world to me.

Thank you for being a part of my life and for helping me with this goal!”

18/10/2026

Team Run With Heart completed the Chicago Marathon. But we’re not done celebrating their efforts.

You may have spotted runner, Brian Condron, as Bank of America highlighted him as one of their featured marathoners. For Brian, running the marathon was a full circle moment after a stroke on his birthday.

“There are moments in life that divide everything into before and after.

For me, that moment came on my birthday — a stroke that stopped me in my tracks and forced me to confront something I had never truly thought about: my heart.

Not metaphorically. Physically.
A condition I didn’t know I had — a small hole in my heart - had been there all along.

But what I’ve come to realize since then is this: my heart was always at the center of everything.

It’s what carried me through long training days chasing a dream to complete the 2024 Ironman World Championship.

It’s what pushed me to keep going when the path forward felt uncertain.

And it’s what grounds me every single day — as a husband, as a father, and as someone who knows just how fragile and precious life really is.

I was fortunate. I had access to incredible care. I had answers. I had a path forward. Not everyone does.

That’s why this journey is now about more than finish lines.

I’m raising money for the American Heart Association to help fund the research, education, and life-saving work that gives people a second chance — people just like me, and people who may not even know they’re at risk yet.

Because heart disease and stroke don’t wait. They don’t discriminate. And too often, they don’t give a warning.

But together, we can change that. …
If my story resonates with you in any way — if you’ve ever loved someone, leaned on someone, or been given a second chance — this is an opportunity to turn that into something bigger.

To give.
To support.
To be part of saving lives.

Because at the heart of it all…that’s what this is really about.”

October 16 is World Restart a Heart Day, and yesterday we had an amazing time turning travelers into lifesavers with Cle...
17/10/2026

October 16 is World Restart a Heart Day, and yesterday we had an amazing time turning travelers into lifesavers with Clear at Midway International Airport. Join the Nation of Lifesavers and visit heart.org/ nation for more!

She kissed her newborn daughter. Then everything went black.What should have been one of the happiest days of Chelsea Ch...
16/10/2026

She kissed her newborn daughter. Then everything went black.

What should have been one of the happiest days of Chelsea Cheveria's life became a fight for survival.

After welcoming her daughter, Zairah, into the world, Chelsea suddenly went into cardiac arrest. Her husband, Scott, was told to pray. Doctors performed four rounds of CPR and worked tirelessly to save her life.

The next morning, Chelsea woke up in the ICU. Scared, unable to speak, and wondering about her baby. Despite broken ribs and a broken sternum from lifesaving CPR, she says holding Zairah for the first time after surviving was "magic."

Today, Chelsea is sharing her story as an advocate for CPR awareness and maternal heart health because she knows firsthand that cardiac emergencies can happen without warning.

On World Restart a Heart Day, Chelsea's story is a powerful reminder that CPR saves lives. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, and immediate CPR can double or even triple a person's chance of survival.

Because of quick action, Chelsea is here to be a mom, a wife, and a safe space for her daughters.

Join the American Heart Association's Nation of Lifesavers™ and learn the two simple steps of Hands-Only CPR:

❤️ Call 911
❤️ Push hard and fast in the center of the chest

Tomorrow is World Restart a Heart Day! Do you know what to do in a cardiac emergency? It’s always a good day to learn to...
15/10/2026

Tomorrow is World Restart a Heart Day! Do you know what to do in a cardiac emergency? It’s always a good day to learn to save a life. Because when seconds matter, you have the power to help.

Get a jump on WRHD by learning the two steps of Hands-Only CPR: If a teen or adult collapses, call 911 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest.

We’re closing out by celebrating one of our amazing board members. Dr. Karen Orjuela, neurologist at UChicago Medicine...
14/10/2026

We’re closing out by celebrating one of our amazing board members. Dr. Karen Orjuela, neurologist at UChicago Medicine, has always viewed excellence as a boundless concept that meets us where we are anywhere in the world.

“I grew up in Colombia in the 1980s and 1990s ... That upbringing taught me that excellence travels across borders and that service fuels creativity and connection.”

Dr. Orjuela also views excellence as part of elevating equitable health, especially in her work.

“When we design care with the communities that carry the highest burden of heart and brain disease, we build better care for everyone.”

Specific risk factors and cultural norms impact how members of the Hispanic-Latino community receive care and interact with providers. Dr. Orjuela says addressing them is key.

“Many Latinas put everyone else first and place themselves last, and that often means delayed care. We also tend to keep social and psychological struggles private. In immigrant communities, many women face social isolation, have little time for physical activity, and sometimes lose their sense of hope and purpose.”

For all cultures and patients, Dr. Orjuela’s why is simple.
“Easing suffering, one patient at a time. .... Waking up healthy enough to enjoy every day is a marvelous privilege, and I want everyone to share it.”

In line with this focus on inclusivity, harm reduction and making room for excellence to thrive, Dr. Orjuela began her involvement in the movement through the Vestido Rojo initiative, which brought together 600 women in Denver, before coming to Chicago.

"They felt appreciated and recognized, and that feeling became part of the medicine. Watching it grow has been one of my greatest joys.”

For Dr. Orjuela, caring for brains extends beyond the hospital -- it’s about sowing a seed into our future. "Our strength lives in our knowledge, our potential, and our creativity, and we want to keep it healthy for our families, our communities, and our country. That means addressing the risk factors that perpetuate inequities, including gaps in access to healthcare and education, and poverty.”

When a cardiac arrest happens, bystanders can make the difference between life and death.That's why we're excited to ann...
13/10/2026

When a cardiac arrest happens, bystanders can make the difference between life and death.

That's why we're excited to announce Josh Blackwell of the Chicago Bears as a member of the 2026 Nation of Lifesavers™ Player Ambassador Class! 🏈❤️ He's joining players across the NFL to encourage fans to learn Hands-Only CPR and be prepared to save a life.

Take 90 seconds to learn a skill that could help save someone you love: heart.org/HandsOnlyCPR

Another year, another Chicago Marathon in the books!Thank you and CONGRATULATIONS to all of the runners who completed th...
11/10/2026

Another year, another Chicago Marathon in the books!

Thank you and CONGRATULATIONS to all of the runners who completed this year’s Chicago Marathon.

Special thanks to the 177 members of Team Run With Heart, who raised more than $550,000 toward the American Heart Association’s lifesaving mission!

Whether you were honoring a survivor, celebrating your own heart journey or remembering someone you lost to heart disease, we are grateful to be part of your marathon experience.

Stay tuned as we highlight more standout Team Run With Heart marathoners and announce our top fundraiser this week!

10/10/2026

As we celebrate another year of Team Run With Heart hitting the streets for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, we're highlighting our top fundraisers as they advance the American Heart Association's mission with every step, sprint and stride.

Some stories, like Colleen's, speak for themselves.

"This year, I’m running the Chicago Marathon in loving memory of my mom, Joyce Russell, our mom, our Meema, our heart.

Losing my mom to a sudden heart attack shattered our world. There was no warning, no time to prepare, just an unimaginable loss that changed our family forever. It’s the kind of loss that stays with you… in the quiet moments, in the milestones, and in all the moments you wish she were still here for.

My mom was everything to us. She was love, strength, and the steady presence you just assume will always be there. And to my kids, she wasn’t just Joyce, she was Meema. The kind of grandma who showed up, who loved deeply, and who made her family feel safe and whole.

Her life was defined by caring for others, by showing up, and by loving her family with everything she had. That’s her legacy and it’s one I carry with me every single day.

So, I’m running 26.2 miles for her.

For the moments she should still be here for.
For my kids who miss their meema.
For the families who don’t know what’s coming.

I’m running in support of the American Heart Association to help fund research, raise awareness, and fight the kind of heart disease that took my mom from us far too soon.

If you’re able to donate, thank you, truly. You are helping turn heartbreak into purpose.

And if you can’t donate, I’ll carry your support with me every mile because this run is bigger than me.

It’s for my mom.
It’s for her legacy.
It’s for every heartbeat that deserves more time."

Help our marathoners run to give hearts all over the world more time at https://bit.ly/4htzlts

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