NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Lisa Foundation, the U.S. leader in driving awareness and education in the fight against brain aneurysms, has joined forces with Whoopi Goldberg and CVS Pharmacy during Brain Aneurysm Awareness month to launch a first-of-its-kind national campaign to educate Americans about the signs and symptoms of a brain aneurysm to help prevent potential ruptures and deaths. In partnership with CVS Pharmacy, the public service announcement (PSA) will be rolled out across its 8,000 U.S. retail locations through its in-store radio network as well as on its social media channels.
In 2015, a brain aneurysm tragically took the life of Whoopi Goldberg’s brother and only sibling, Clyde, in addition to robbing Todd Crawford of his wife, Lisa Colagrossi, a longstanding and adored anchor and reporter for New York’s flagship station, channel 7 ABC Eyewitness News. The news of Lisa’s passing made headlines around the world, shocked the media industry and was followed by public tributes from many notable media personalities, including Whoopi Goldberg on ‘The View.’
“The Lisa Foundation was created with the goal of leading the fight against brain aneurysms through awareness and education to provide Americans with critical information needed to make an informed decision to spare themselves and others the same fate that my wife and Whoopi’s brother experienced. Brain aneurysms are a silent killer and we are breaking the silence to create a national conversation around this deadly disorder,” said Todd Crawford, Founder of The Lisa Foundation. “Whoopi experienced a tremendous personal loss due to a brain aneurysm and we appreciate her sharing her story as a rallying cry for everyone to learn more about brain aneurysms. Through our partnership with Whoopi, as well as working with CVS Pharmacy to roll this campaign out nationally, we have the opportunity to reach millions of people with life-saving information and help prevent more lives from being taken.”
The PSA helps shed light on brain aneurysms and addresses major knowledge gaps revealed by the industry’s first survey, sponsored by The Lisa Foundation, which found that most Americans had little to no understanding of brain aneurysms and 100 percent of Americans were unable to identify most warning signs.
In particular, the public service announcement creatively depicts and explains some of the top symptoms of a brain aneurysm – such as the sudden onset of the worst headache of your life (WHOL), a sharp pain behind or above one eye and blurry or double vision – through the use of icons and graphics developed by The Lisa Foundation to emphasize the need to seek immediate medical treatment.
“Too few people understand the signs and symptoms of a brain aneurysm, which requires a campaign like this to help elevate awareness in order to increase early detection and improve outcomes,” said Dr. Howard Riina, professor, vice chair of Neurosurgery at New York University Langone Medical Center and head of the medical board for The Lisa Foundation. “As Todd, Whoopi and countless other individual experiences tell us, knowing the facts can make a life or death difference. Knowledge can help save a life, but we must help start the conversation and we’re proud to be leading those efforts in memory of Lisa and on behalf of everyone who has lost a loved one to a brain aneurysm.”
The public service announcement as well as critical information about the signs and symptoms of a brain aneurysm are available at lisafoundation.org.
ABOUT BRAIN ANEURYSMS
Up to 15 million, or 1 out of 20, people are estimated to have an undiagnosed brain aneurysm in the United States. Women are 50 percent more likely to develop one, particularly between the ages of 40 to 60, while African Americans and Hispanics are up to 30 percent more likely than other ethnic groups. A brain aneurysm is a weakness or thinning of the wall of a blood vessel in the brain that gradually bulges outward. Eventually, the bulging blood vessel may leak or rupture causing bleeding into the brain. A ruptured aneurysm quickly becomes life threatening and requires prompt emergency treatment. The most common sudden onset symptoms of a brain aneurysm are worst headache of your life (WHOL), stiffness in the neck, sensitivity to light, sharp pain behind or above the eye, blurred or double vision, drooping eyelid, seizures, loss of consciousness, numbness or tingling in the face, nausea and vomiting, confusion or changed mental state and perceived gunshot noise or a loud boom. Risk factors include smoking, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, heavy alcohol or drug abuse, head injury, lower estrogen after menopause, family history of brain aneurysm, and polycystic kidney disease, among others. This year, approximately 40,000 people are expected to experience a ruptured brain aneurysm, with more than 75% of ruptures resulting in death or permanent disability.
ABOUT THE LISA FOUNDATION
The Lisa Foundation is a non-profit organization that has emerged as the leader in awareness and education for brain aneurysms in the United States since it was founded in 2015, months after the death of its namesake. Within months of its launch, The Lisa Foundation was credited with saving its first life, and several more have followed. In 2017, the organization launched the industry’s very first public service announcement (PSA) on national television to help address the disturbing gap in knowledge about brain aneurysms revealed in the first national survey sponsored by The Lisa Foundation. Visit us at lisafoundation.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
