Golf Fore Heart 2008, the charity golf tournament started last year by Baltimore resident, JoAnne Zawitoski, in memory of her late husband, Guy Fernandez, will again take place on 25 June at the Mountain Branch Golf Club, Joppa Maryland. Golf Fore Heart raises money for the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication or SHAPE. The event is being Co-Chaired by Mark

Montgomery of Ports America Baltimore, Inc.

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) June 15, 2008 — Golf Fore Heart 2008, the charity golf tournament started last year by Baltimore resident, JoAnne Zawitoski, in memory of her late husband, Guy Fernandez, will again take place on 25 June at the Mountain Branch Golf Club, Joppa Maryland. Golf Fore Heart raises money for the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication or SHAPE. The event is being Co-Chaired by Mark Montgomery of Ports America Baltimore, Inc.

 

“It is a family affair for us and Guy’s friends and colleagues. It is also a fun day for a great cause – preventing that first heart attack. I know that Guy would be pleased with what we’re doing,” says Zawitoski.

Who: Guy Fernandez was a Baltimore resident, loving husband, father, son-in-law and friend. He was 49 years old, a non-smoker with a 34″ waist. He had no prior symptoms of heart disease – no chest pain or shortness of breath – and three severely blocked arteries. He died instantly of a massive heart attack ten (10) days after receiving a clean bill of health from his primary care physician.

 

Why: Guy Fernandez’s story is reflective of an unrecognized fact: every day over 1900 previously healthy individuals arrive at emergency rooms with a 1st-time heart attack. “Using traditional risk assessment guidelines, about 80% of them would have been considered to be at low to intermediate risk prior to their heart attack,” said Dr. Morteza Naghavi, Chairman of the Board of SHAPE.

 

“It has been obvious for some time that new strategies are needed to fight the growing epidemic of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Continuing to do what we have done in the past 20 years, while useful, will not suffice. Heart attack has been the number one killer in this country for decades. To change the status quo we need to change the way we think and practice.” added Dr. Naghavi. While SHAPE supports traditional risk-reduction strategies including public education and awareness we also undertake preventive screening initiatives for early detection and intervention in the asymptomatic population. Golf Fore Heart created by the family and friends of Guy Fernandez makes possible SHAPE’s programs and services including:

 

-Education and dissemination of the SHAPE Guidelines designed to find and assist all individuals who are at risk for heart attack – with special focus on the asymptomatic individual. SHAPE is, in fact, the only heart health organization dedicated to at-risk, asymptomatic individuals.
-SHAPE Symposia for cardiovascular professionals conducted twice a year that review current medical research and trends.

-SHAPE Public Education Programs including a leading-edge interactive website where both medical professionals and the community can access the latest research in the battle to defeat heart attack.

 

– The SHAPE Clinic, our signature initiative, will help conduct, standardize and proliferate non-invasive screening of all asymptomatic men 45-75 years of age and asymptomatic women 55-75 years of age to detect those with subclinical atherosclerosis and direct them toward preventative treatment. These are the very individuals who, currently, are arriving in our ERs with unpredicted sudden heart attack.

 

-Professional education for the development of the “Polypill” and a vaccine for atherosclerosis as future population-based strategies for the eradication of heart attack.

Multiple screening tests are approved for early detection of subclinical cancers such as mammography for breast cancer and colonoscopy for colon cancer. Though no tests are officially approved for detection of subclinical atherosclerosis, which underlies both heart attack and stroke, SHAPE is the most active proponent of modern imaging technology, believing that the void in approved screening leaves many individuals – even those with severe atherosclerosis -unaware of their risk because they have no symptoms. Zawitoski concurs, saying that scans for coronary calcium are the “mammograms and colonoscopies of the future,” particularly for the middle-aged men and post-menopausal women who are most at risk. Thus, the loving family and friends of Guy Fernandez through Golf Fore Heart are empowering SHAPE to change the face of cardiac screening and make a significant contribution to community health for generations to come both in Baltimore and nationwide. Major supporters of the event include:

Heart of Gold Sponsors:
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
Propeller Club of Baltimore
Ports America Baltimore, Inc.

Braveheart Sponsors:
Aramark
Atlantic Container Line
Johns Hopkins Advanced Studies in Medicine Initiative
Kalmar Industries Corporation
Semmes, Bowen & Semmes

Heart-Warming Sponsors:
Hoppman Audio Visual
Iliff & Meredith, P.C.
Merritt Properties

Open-Hearted Sponsors:
American Maritime Cases
Morteza Naghavi, M.D.
Scott Phillips
Mr. & Mrs. Edward Casel
Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore
Concrete Protection and Restoration
Family of Guy P. Fernandez
Canton Railroad Company
Family of Sofia and James Covington
Multimarine Services, Inc.
Mosely, Prichard, Parrish, Knight & Jones (James F. Mosely and Bob Parrish)
Columbia Partners
Brock & Company, Inc.
Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hothberger & Hollander, LLC
Skip Jones
BaltiCarrier
Family of Ray Mahar
The Vencill Family
Law Office of Michael Collins
Medical Decision Point
Loren & “Buddy” Montgomery
Potter Plumbing & Mechanical Contractors
Office Movers, A Kane Company
Office Shredding, A Kane Company
Mi-Jack Products, Inc.
Family of P.D. Merrill
Dann Marine Towing
ILA Baltimore District Council
Ed & Jean Zawitoski
Chris & Scott Englehart
Donna & Peter Werda
Ed & Gina Zawitoski
OST Trucking Company, Inc.

 

Among the donors of prizes are: Mediterranean Shipping Co. which donated a Caribbean Cruise for Two; Southwest Airlines which donated Two Round Trip Airline Tickets; McCormick & Co.; Stephen Fruin, Esq. and Susan Griisser, Esq. who donated tickets to Orioles’ games; Boccaccio Restaurant; Union Memorial Hospital/MedStar Health which donated Two Heart Scans; Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center which contributed One Complete Cardiac Work-up; and Sofi’s Crepes.