The American Heart Association has recognized two community-focused innovators with its 2026 Impact with Heart recognition for developing scalable solutions that address social drivers of cardiovascular health. This comes as projections indicate at least 6 in 10 U.S. adults will have some form of cardiovascular disease, with related healthcare costs expected to triple, according to research available at https://newsroom.heart.org/news/population-shifts-risk-factors-may-triple-u-s-cardiovascular-disease-costs-by-2050. The Association emphasizes that optimal cardiovascular health is shaped not only by clinical care but also by access to coverage, transportation, nutritious food, and stress-reducing support.
Impact with Heart focuses on supporting local, community-based entrepreneurs and organizations through the Association's Social Impact Funds and its EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator™. This support combines investment capital with coaching and strategic guidance to help ensure participating companies succeed. The two organizations honored this year exemplify innovation rooted in community health with programs available nationwide.
Mammha, based in Miami and founded by CEO Maureen Fura, is a Social Impact Funds portfolio company transforming perinatal mental health care. The company's text- and web-based platform streamlines maternal mental health screening, referral, and treatment in clinics and remotely to help more mothers experiencing depression and anxiety receive timely, culturally relevant support.
ThriveLink, headquartered in St. Louis and founded by CEO Kwamane Liddell, is an EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator alumnus using AI-powered voice technology to enroll families in essential programs like Medicaid, food assistance, and utility support. The technology removes internet and literacy hurdles by allowing people to complete complex applications by voice, reducing paperwork barriers and connecting families to life-changing resources. A recent investment by the Social Impact Funds is accelerating ThriveLink's reach.
"The American Heart Association has a long history of impact, but the challenges ahead demand new approaches, new partnerships and bold leadership," said Nancy Brown, chief executive officer of the American Heart Association. "What you see through Impact with Heart are powerful examples of what's possible when mission-driven innovators are given the resources, trust and support to scale ideas that remove barriers to care and improve lives."
Launched in 2018, the Association's Social Impact Funds, part of American Heart Association Ventures, support for-profit and nonprofit organizations tackling key social drivers of health through equity investments, loans, and grants. The EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator provides philanthropic support and an MBA-style curriculum that helps health-focused entrepreneurs refine business models, strengthen storytelling, and prepare to scale solutions addressing food and nutrition security, access to care, and community impact. These initiatives align with broader research on structural factors affecting health, as detailed in advisory documents like https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000936.
The recognition of these innovators highlights a strategic shift toward addressing the social determinants that significantly influence cardiovascular outcomes. With heart disease and stroke killing more people annually than all forms of cancer combined, and projections showing the burden will only increase as detailed in https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001256, scalable community-based solutions represent a critical pathway to mitigating the coming healthcare crisis. By investing in and recognizing organizations that directly tackle barriers to healthcare access, nutritious food, and economic stability, the American Heart Association is supporting interventions that could fundamentally alter disease trajectories in vulnerable populations.
