Merit Medical is a company with heart. We’re a team with a common goal of improving the lives of people worldwide. That’s why we’re proud to celebrate February as American Heart Month—because we believe that heart health and heart disease prevention are topics that affect everyone.
In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups.1 Every 37 seconds a person dies from cardiovascular disease.1 And about 647,000 Americans die from heart disease each year—a staggering 1 in 4 deaths.1
Merit Medical has a long history of supporting heart health through a number of product innovations. In 1987 we started with a single groundbreaking product—a stronger and safer coronary control syringe. More than thirty years later, our cardiac portfolio has expanded, providing interventional cardiologists and electrophysiologists with more options to treat patients.
When it comes to our Merit team, we take heart health seriously. Some of the ways we prioritize heart health every day include employee health screenings and challenges, healthy meal options in our facility cafés, convenient opportunities to engage in physical activity, and a smoking cessation program.
Merit’s Chief Wellness Officer Dr. Nicole Priest offers regular wellness talks at our Salt Lake City HQ, including a special heart talk this month, to keep our team up to date on the latest health recommendations and tips for disease prevention. With the help of the American Heart Association Utah Division, we also offer on-site employee CPR awareness courses. Thanks to these training efforts and facility-wide AED device accessibility, Merit employees were able to save the life of a co-worker who suffered cardiac arrest.
Merit is proud to recognize American Heart Month. Check back throughout February to see all the ways we’re raising awareness about heart health and working together to prevent heart disease.
Meet Peter Carpenter, currently a college student and engineering intern at Merit Medical. He shares his compelling story about a heart condition that has shaped his journey to become a medical device engineer.
MERIT HEART SAVERS
During #AmericanHeartMonth, we stop to reflect about ways to keep our hearts healthy. And last year, the Merit family learned first-hand the importance of CPR and AED training when three employees were able to save the life of a colleague. In this video they share their story. Thank you to the American Heart Association of Utah for supporting Merit’s CPR and AED training program.
REFERENCES
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019 Dec 2). Heart Disease Facts. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm