Maryland resident Ron Michaud had his first heart attack and bypass surgery in 1980 at age 37. Ten years later, he again underwent bypass surgery. By 2002, he had severe heart failure, and had a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted, and was placed on the heart transplant waiting list.

Ron’s family has a long history of cardiovascular disease. His father died from a heart attack at 58, and all four of his younger brothers had some form of cardiovascular disease. Two of them were diligent in living a healthy lifestyle and adhering to their medication regimens, the other two did not and sadly died of heart-related causes at the young ages of 39 and 49.

Ron did not want to continue the family history. And thankfully, in 2004, he and his wife Heather received the news they patiently waited for, and Ron received a heart transplant in July.

Through his family history and own personal struggle with cardiovascular disease, Ron and his wife have since dedicated their free time to educating heart patients about the importance of exercising and a healthy diet, as well as encouraging patients to stick to their medication regimens through their work with Mended Hearts, a national non-profit, community-based heart patient support organization.

Ron has been taking medications for cardiovascular disease since he was just 32 and currently takes 13 different medications for high blood pressure, diabetes, peripheral artery disease, high cholesterol, and immune-suppressants due to his heart transplant. This requires Ron and his wife to sort his medication very carefully, as his 13 different medications translates into 21 pills/day taken at four different times a day. Because he personally knows how challenging yet important this can be, he and his wife emphasize the vital role medication adherence plays in being able to lead a productive life with cardiovascular disease.
Through Mended Hearts, the Michaud’s regularly visit heart surgery and intervention patients at their local hospital. Heather was recently elected President of the their local Mended Hearts chapter in Salisbury, and they have several presentations planned at area medical centers to discuss the importance of medication management using materials from Script Your Future, a national public health campaign created by the National Consumers League to promote taking medication as prescribed. Ron shared his story at the national launch of the Script Your Future campaign last May, as well as the local Baltimore Script Your Future launch this past Nov.
More information about the organizations:
Mended Hearts is a national non-profit, community-based heart patient support organization. Mended Hearts was founded in 1951 and has 18,000 members nationally who operate through 300 chapters and satellites across the U.S. and is now aligned with the American College of Cardiology.