Help Bridge The Gap In Nutrition & Heart Disease

Cynthia with her Abuelo & Abuela

The Cardiology Initiative was founded by a second-year medical student, Cynthia Moreno, after the recent passing of her grandfather from diabetes and diet-related cardiovascular disease. Her grandfather was born and raised in Mexico and immigrated to the United States in hopes of a better life. Unfortunately, a couple years ago he developed heart failure, which was likely a consequence of his persistently high blood pressure from poor eating habits. Although poor nutrition was known to be the main contributing factor to his diabetes and cardiovascular disease, he was never offered more than a pamphlet on how to improve his diet.

 

Ms. Moreno has also participated in multiple outreach programs offering medical care to the indigenous people of Mexico. During her time volunteering, she noticed an overwhelming number of patients suffering from diet related cardiovascular diseases. However, all she could offer them was verbal advice on how to begin lifestyle and diet changes, that was likely to be forgotten.

 

Witnessing these health disparities and the gap in nutritional education regarding cardiovascular disease inspired her to create The Cardiology Initiative.

 

Now The Cardiology Initiative is becoming a nonprofit organization and we need your help!

 

We have brought together medical, public health and educational leaders to advance our mission of empowering communities to take charge of their heart health by providing the resources and education needed to prevent diet-related cardiovascular disease. The Cardiology Initiative (TCI) recognizes the everlasting global threat of diet-related cardiovascular disease (CVD) and has developed a dynamic and strategic plan to begin combating this global health crisis. According to the World Health Organization, more than 75% of all CVDs can be attributed to the following diet-related, and high-risk conditions: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, low fruit and vegetable intake, and a sedentary lifestyle.

 

With cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death worldwide, we think it’s time to start focusing on the bigger picture: diet.

 

Our approach to conquering this global health crisis is multifaceted. We focus on taking upstream preventative and reactive measures through community outreach, education, policy change and teamwork. Together we are committed to lowering the risk of diet related cardiovascular disease one community at a time. Currently we are working with leaders in the field of cardiology in several cities to begin implementing real life change. We have associations in the United States, Mexico, and Ghana that will be supporting our mission of bridging the gap between cardiology and nutrition.

Ms. Evangelia Aidoo working with the students in Ghana.

The Initiative's work is underway with amazing partnerships leading the dynamic and multifaceted approach to achieving our goals.

 

First, is an upstream education project already being implemented in Southern California where we work with Level UP Enrichment, one of the largest after school enrichment program providers located in San Diego, CA. We build a uniquely designed curriculum to teach children in kindergarten through fifth grade about anatomy and the affects food has on their body. We believe it's important to teach children at a responsive age about the importance of diet to establish healthy eating habits to prevent diet related cardiovascular disease.

 

The second project underway is connecting nutritionists to cardiologists, so that patients suffering from diet-related cardiovascular disease have a personalized guide on the best diet plan for them and their specific cardiovascular diseases. Right now, we are connecting medical student volunteers to cardiologists to help counsel patients on the importance of diet. This project is soon to be launched in Reno, Nevada, U.S. and in Guadalajara, MX.

 

We are seeking $10,000 to help us cover preliminary costs of starting a new business and to ensure we have initial resources in place to proceed with the projects already underway. We have secured a solid board of directors comprised of medical, non-profit, and educational leaders. We are ready to move forward with incorporating as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit agency in the United States. We are also building a customized website to inform all our supporters on the outreach work.

 

We hope you will see the great value in this endeavor and help us lower the rates of diet-related cardiovascular disease. It is likely you or someone you know, and love has been affected.

 

Donate and help fight heart disease today!