Ryan Gomes Campaigns for Heart Health

Minnesota Timberwolve's forward Ryan Gomes has partnered with Parent Heart Watch and Cardiac Science to donate automated external defibrillators to schools and local recreation centers in twelve NBA cities. He plans to get to the remaining eighteen cities next season, with the ultimate goal of having the devices in most school gymnasiums and rec centers in the country.

When Gomes played in college for Providence, another player from Connecticut, Stanley Myers of New Haven, collapsed and died while working out in anticipation of a season at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Gomes then teamed up with his AAU coach to form Hoops for Heart Health, a nonprofit organization that helps to educate and address sudden cardiac arrest.

What happened to Myers is more common than many people realize. More than 325,000 people pass away each year from sudden cardiac arrest, including over 7,000 children, according to statistics published by the American Heart Association.

A good number of those who die, especially young people, show no signs or symptoms of heart problems before they experience severe trauma and die. Rachel Moyer's son, Greg, suddenly collapsed and died seven years ago when he was a sophomore on his varsity basketball team, and had just completed the first half of a game. Because there was no defibrillator at the school, by the time an ambulance arrived with one it was too late.

Moyer then co-founded Parent Heart Watch, a group that has worked to make defibrillators more available, especially in schools and recreation centers. Gomes joined forces with Moyer in July 2007, and the partnership has been a very fruitful one, utilizing his athletic credentials to shine a national spotlight on the important health issue.

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