FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BALTIMORE, MD - 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. The event is being Co-Chaired by Mark Montgomery of Ports America Baltimore, Inc.

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. 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. Unfortunately, 70% of those were considered low to intermediate risk using traditional risk assessment guidelines. 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.

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.

For further information about Golf Fore Heart and the story of Guy Fernandez, contact:

JoAnne Zawitoski
Semmes, Bowen & Semmes
25 South Charles St., Suite 1400
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
(410) 576-4899

Mark Montgomery
Ports America Baltimore, Inc.
2200 Broening Highway, Suite 100
Baltimore, Maryland 21224
(410) 631-5950

For further information about SHAPE, contact:

George Marshall Worthington
Executive Director
The Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE)
8275 El Rio, Suite 100
Houston, TX 77054
Office: 713.256.8965
Fax: 832.239.9919
Email: george.worthington-AT-shapesociety.org
Web: www.shapesociety.org