Cody Sharrett
Rip City’s beloved reporter Brooke Olzendam has one request for Portland Trail Blazers fans: please heart your heart and know the signs of a heart attack. After tragically losing husband Andy Collins to a sudden heart attack only ten days after their wedding, Olzendam’s “Brooke Hearts Your Heart” campaign aims to raise awareness for heart health, including the need for more automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) and CPR classes. In an interview with color commentator Lamar Hurd, Olzendam explains why this matters so much to her in year two of the campaign.
In the first year of the campaign, Olzendam helped raise more than $15,000 for the American Heart Association. The American Heart Association is a nonprofit organization that raises money to fund research into cardiovascular medicine and health, while also publishing guidance on heart health and educating the general public on the importance of cardiovascular health and decreasing the prevalence of heart disease.