HCP Education and Screening for Sudden Cardiac Death

Holly Morrell

Holly Morrell pioneered the grassroots cardiac screening effort/industry beginning in 1999. She has 8 years experience in screening student athletes throughout the country. As the former Executive Director of A Heart for Sports, she spearheaded the organization/screening program, to become the "largest player" in the U.S., as quoted by the Wall Street Journal in 2005.

Holly is knowledgeable, experienced, and professional, but considers her work to be very personal, as well. She dedicates her work to the 6 family members lost to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), the #1 cause of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) in young people in the U.S. Nine Morrell family members, out of 11, had the disease; 6 died and 3 live with devices implanted in their chests to protect them from sudden death. Holly herself was diagnosed with the condition in 2002, after running a cardiac screening program for 3 years.

She has been a national spokesperson for her cause since 1999, speaking all over the country on the subject of Sudden Cardiac Death. Holly has been a guest speaker on numerous educational and training panels, has appeared on national television, and has been the subject of many nationally and worldwide published articles. In 2003, she became a national spokesperson for Medtronic, Inc. as a patient advocate, and she also has been privileged to address the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill.

Holly established Heartfelt Cardiac Projects in order to better serve the general public and help save lives through early detection, education, and increased public awareness.

The Morrell Family has a long and tragic history of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). Holly's involvement with cardiac screening is dedicated to the memory of her 6 family members, including her father, who lost their lives to this insidious condition. Three other family members are living with HCM and have Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators (ICDs). Ironically, Holly was first diagnosed with HCM in 2002 after running a cardiac screening program for 3 years. She received an ICD in July, 2002.

Board of Directors

Azhar K. Qureshi, MD, MBA, DrPH, Chairperson - Vice President, Department of
Clinical Quality, St. Joseph Health System

Michael S. Ascher, MD, FACP, Vice Chair - Senior Medical Advisor, Biology & Biotechnology
Research Program, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Ellen DiGiampaolo, RD, Treasurer - Director of Food and Nutrition Services, Morrison
Health Care Inc., Harbor - UCLA Medical Center

Annette T. Drake, Secretary - Director of Administration, The California Wellness
Foundation (retired)

Gerald R. Solomon, JD, President & CEO - PHFE Management Solutions, Ex Officio
Eugene F. Carpino - Director of Operations, Illinois Republican House of Representative's Caucus

Robert Chason - Chief Executive Officer, University of California Davis Health System
Elaine Garvey, LLB, ACA - Senior Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Michael R. Gomez - Chief Executive Officer, Fiscal Credit Union
Babatunde "Babs" Jinadu, MD, MPH - County Health Officer, Kern County Department of
Public Health

Bruce Y. Lai - Chief of Staff, Office of Council Member Gale A. Brewer, City of New York
Alicia Lara - Lara Consulting; The California Endowment (Retired)

David J. Maurrasse, PhD - President & CEO, Marga Incorporated, Miami Beach, Florida &
New York City, New York

Debra Ortiz - Former California State Senator

Robert D. Westfall - Vice President, International Banking Group, Security

Pacific Bank (retired); Consultant, Executive Service Corps of Southern California (current)

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