American Heart Association “Tour”

The International Pageant system has such a great alliance with the American Heart Association to build healthier lives. This alliance is a perfect fit for me. I became a dietitian because I have always been so passionate about health and wellness. Due to my background in nutrition and as a health professional, I was given the opportunity to present a series on heart disease prevention with a local survivor. One of my favorite messages has been “it is never too late, or too early, to take care of your heart.”

The fabulous Joan Enderle, who is a communications director for the American Heart Association, couldn’t have found a more perfect team when she paired me with the amazing Jana Tronier! Jana is quickly becoming quite the celebrity in Fargo. She has such a desire to tell her story around town that after a feature on Jessie and Amanda with Pike in the morning’s radio show on 98.7 for National Wear Red Day, she was asked to be a guest host for a week on their show! One of our presentations together was even featured on the local Fox evening news!

Jana and I have been “on tour” together presenting at Edgewood Vista, Bethany Retirement Living, and Sheyenne Crossings. Jana’s passion for heart disease prevention is so moving. When we present together, she is so open about telling her survivor story in such vivid detail that you can feel her struggle. She is moved to tears herself every time she describes the pain she felt until she was ultimately diagnosed with heart disease. Now her passion is to help other women to understand their risk and the seriousness of heart disease. While the American Heart Association has had a huge impact on awareness and prevention, there is still one woman that dies every 90 seconds from heart disease. As Jana always says, “This is serious. It isn’t just a man’s disease.”

I encourage you to be involved with the American Heart Association and check www.heart.org for more information. They offer a great Heart Checkup at http://72.32.26.93/hcu/locale/en_US/main_en_US.html where you can check your personal risk for heart disease. If you don’t know the answers to some of the questions that ask for specific numbers, that’s OK! That means it is a great reason to check in with your doctor and find the answers together. After you have finished assessing your risk and learning about prevention, make sure you share what you know with everyone you love! One last fun video Jana and I always share during presentations and with our friends and family is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7wmPWTnDbE. Trust me, it’s a really fun video that the women in your life will appreciate!


We make a good team J  

Meg Pulkrabek

Miss North Dakota International 2014