Valentine's Day marks beginning of National Heart Failure Awareness Week
This is an important public education initiative, says Uri Elkayam, director of the USC Heart Failure Program at USC University Hospital. Tragically, this disease affects almost five million Americans of all ages and is responsible for more hospitalizations than all forms of cancer combined. This is the first national public awareness campaign designed to help increase recognition of this potentially life-threatening disease and encourage people to talk to their doctors if they think they are at risk.
The term heart failure suggests a sudden and complete stop of heart activity. But, actually, the heart does not suddenly stop. Rather, heart failure usually develops slowly, often over years, as the heart gradually loses its pumping ability and works less efficiently, says Elkayam.
As more people survive heart attacks but are left with weakened hearts, heart failure is the only major cardiovascular disorder on the rise, says Elkayam.
Heart failure occurs when the heart loses its ability to pump enough blood through the body. However, many people with heart failure are not aware they have it because the symptoms, such as feeling short of breath and tired, are often mistaken for normal signs of aging.
Elkayam says it is important to stress that with treatment and lifestyle modifications patients can continue to live productive lives. The USC Heart Failure Program is at the forefront of the use of new drug therapies, mechanical pumps attached to the heart and other experimental surgical procedures for severe heart failure.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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