The Los Angeles Rams are teaming up with Edwards Lifesciences to get heart valve health "Off the Sidelines." Edwards is the official sponsor of the Rams Legends Community for the 2023 season to raise awareness of heart valve disease and make screening for heart valve failure part of the gameplan for everyone 65 and older.
"The Rams are proud to partner with leading global medtech company Edwards Lifesciences to educate our former players and our fans about heart health," said Los Angeles Rams Chief Commercial Officer Jennifer Prince. "We look forward to working with Edwards this season to increase awareness of this important effort in communities across Southern California."
"Off the Sidelines" will feature heart valve screening events open to Rams Legends to determine if they are at risk for heart valve failure. In addition, the Los Angeles Rams and Edwards Lifesciences will look to bring free heart valve screenings into communities across Southern California.
Look through the best photos of Los Angeles Rams fans showing up for Legends Day at 2023 Training Camp.
"Rams players over the years have given us so many memories of thrilling moments on the field. I am proud of this partnership – to give these Legends the care and heart valve health knowledge they can use and share to improve their lives and the lives of others in the communities that look to them as icons and role models," said Larry Wood, Edwards' corporate vice president and group president, transcatheter aortic valve replacement and surgical structural heart.
Severe aortic stenosis, a form of heart valve failure, is the most common type of heart valve disease, affecting as many as 1.6 million older Americans. Though it is deadly – once heart valve disease progresses to heart valve failure, up to 50% of sufferers die within two years – it is also treatable through open heart surgery or a transcatheter heart valve replacement procedure.
"Knowing your risk factors for heart valve failure and all the options available for treatment are the keys to beating this disease," said Cedric Cravens, M.D., Edwards' director of patient engagement and health access equity. "More than 80% of those with heart valve disease go undiagnosed or untreated, and the undertreatment rate is significantly higher in underserved communities. But unlike other progressive diseases like cancer, there is no age-mandated screening for heart valve failure. Our hope is that this partnership with the Legends community will bring awareness to heart valve failure and encourage people, especially those over 65, to take action."
To kick off the partnership, Edwards Lifesciences hosted a screening for the Rams Legends Community in Irvine, Calif., prior to the Legends' Day Training Camp practice. Legends and their family members received a heart valve health screening and educational session before they enjoyed the afternoon at Rams Training Camp.
