2023 Swim From the Heart – To Help Hearts at Risk with SCD

Swim from the Heart logo no date

Please Support the Annual International ‘Swim from the Heart’ Open Water Swim – and Help Hearts at Risk for SCD! 

On Friday, May 19, 2023, in Haifa, Israel, participants of all ages and abilities will dive into the blue, warm waters of the Mediterranean in the Haifa Bay, also known as Cape Carmel in Northern Israel.

Join us in making a global impact through life-saving SCD research. Please donate towards our goal to raise $200,000.

The Cause is Why We Swim

Be a part of a movement to accelerate our understanding and a search for a cure for Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) – a major cause of natural death in children and young adults worldwide.

Putting it simply—research saves lives. Around 40-50% of all cardiovascular deaths worldwide are due to SCD. With no warning symptoms until the fatal incident, prevention for SCD is difficult. In the young, SCD is usually due to inherited genetic disorders that may result in the death of otherwise healthy individuals. New approaches are needed to enable early detection, prevention, and management to assure a promising future for people at risk for SCD.

Significant progress has been made by Rambam’s world-renowned researchers with the help of previous SFTH swimmers and supporters. To continue our progress of this life-saving effort, we are counting on you.

As a leader in SCD research, Rambam’s breakthrough studies can have a global impact. Your dedicated efforts to help raise funds for this critical research are more important than ever!

Your Impact

Swim from the Heart was inspired by open-water swimmers in Haifa’s sister city of San Francisco, passionate individuals just like you! Donations from the first annual ‘Swim from the Heart’ event have already dramatically helped Rambam researchers.

It was known that young people and otherwise healthy individuals with inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes can suddenly experience life-threatening arrhythmias leading to SCD. However, Swim from the Heart donations helped our researchers discover that many of these syndromes are far more widespread than was previously realized. This underscores the urgency for identifying those at risk for SCD.

Funds contributed towards our genetic research uncovered two new gene mutations responsible for life-threatening arrhythmias. With this knowledge, Rambam researchers have set up a stem cell model to determine which gene mutations can lead to arrhythmias. Armed with this information, they can then begin working on novel therapies to detect and prevent SCD.

Thank You for Helping Hearts at Risk

Please let us know if you are interested in learning more about this exciting experience. We look forward to hearing from you! You can contact Sari at American Friends of Rambam at (424) 240-8083.