Contact:
Morgan Mahone
Marketing and Communications Manager
mmahone@gafp.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2016
GEORGIA ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS LAUNCHES #StopAFIBinGA CAMPAIGN
Social media campaign emphasizing risk factors for cardiac atrial fibrillation and stroke
June 23, 2016—-
The Georgia Academy of Family Physicians in conjunction with Pfizer is bringing awareness to thousands of Georgians who are unaware of their cardiac atrial fibrillation and stroke risk.
@GAFamilyDocs, the academy’s Twitter handle, will be tweeting on the 5th, 15th, and 25th of every month for the next year. Tweets will remind clinicians and patients that the risk factors for atrial fibrillation and stroke are manageable. Atrial fibrillation, known as AF or AFIB, is an irregular and often very fast heart rate. This may cause symptoms like heart palpitations, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Treating atrial fibrillation is important because it may cause a stroke and negatively impact the patient’s quality of life. An estimated 2.7 million Americans are living with AFIB.
“Unhealthy eating, smoking, drinking, and lack of exercise are risk factors you can control”, said Mitzi Rubin M.D. “Simple lifestyle changes can make a world of difference when treating AFIB and drastically reduces the chance of stroke.” Dr. Rubin is the president of the GAFP and a family physician in the Atlanta area. The tweets will cover a range of topics intended to start a conversation between patients and providers about their heart health.
The Georgia Academy of Family Physicians represents 2,900 physicians and medical students. It is the only medical society devoted solely to relationship focused on integrated care. primary care.
Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits—that’s 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician